Cheese & chive quiche with hash brown crust

Very very tasty AND naturally vegetarian and gluten-free

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Now, onto the potato and cheese of the matter! This cheese and chive quiche is special because instead of a pastry base, it’s set atop a hash brown-esque crust. Ideal for anyone who shares my belief that making pastry is hard and a waste of life, shortcrust dislikers (also me) and celiacs. And potato obsessos, many of whom I know are reading right now. Our delicious crust is made by simply grating potato and sweet potato - which I implore you to use, it adds so much flavour, but you can just stick to normal spuds - binding it and pressing it into a pie dish. The skill comes in baking it for the right amount of time to get a crisp yet squishy texture and not burn the edges. Following the following steps should ensure you nail this, though every tin, oven and chef is different and practice will make perfect. My approach to quiche filling is cheesy and easy, so expect to be chucking all the ingredients into one jug, stirring and pouring. Obviously, this quiche is tasty and comforting, and as we’ve now established, rather straightforward to make, but perhaps best of all, it’s affordable and comprises ingredients most of us will have in already - cheese, eggs and potatoes are generally the few bits we have left in our house as we edge towards grocery delivery day, the bits we rely on when we’re scratching our heads for what we can make for dinner before the Aubergine Van arrives, reigning fun ingredients upon us. One last thought: if you’re particularly attached to ham in your quiche or want to impress with balsamic onions and goat’s curd, be my guest, this recipe, like most TWP recipes, is super flexible. But you can’t beat a classic, can you?

I lied, one more thought: like your quiche warm? Make it a little ahead of when you want to eat it and serve it after it’s rested for 30 minutes in the tin. Otherwise, make it, let it cool completely (for a couple of hours) and then pop it in the fridge. A slither can then be taken and enjoyed as and when for the next few days. That’s how I like it best: properly cold with a sharp, well-dressed salad and fresh tomatoes.

Serves 6-8

For the hash brown crust

• 360g potato, no need to peel

• 360g sweet potato, no need to peel

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp minced garlic

• 40g plain flour or gluten-free/corn flour

• 2 large eggs

For the cheese and chive filling

• 3 large eggs

• 150ml milk

• 100g cheddar, grated

• 50g gruyere, grated

• Handful of fresh chives, chopped

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C and line the base of a tart tin (mine’s 25cm and loose-bottomed) with baking parchment.

Grate the potatoes into a large tea towel then bundle up and twist to wring out as much moisture as possible - this is really important! Tip the grated potato into a large bowl and stir through the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, flour and one egg until coated.

Put all of the potato mixture into your tart tin and use the back of a spoon to push it into the base and up the sides. It needs to be tightly packed in so apply some pressure and try not to have any lonely strands poking up at the sides as these will catch when they cook.

If you’re using a loose-bottomed tin, place it on a baking tray and then pop in the oven to catch any leaks and minimise the risk of you grabbing the tin wrong and losing all your hard work (as I have done too many times to count). Bake for 20 minutes.

Then beat the other egg and brush it all over the warm potato making sure you don’t miss any spots, especially on the sides. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

Now, make the cheese and chive filling by putting the eggs, milk, cheddar, gruyere, chives, salt, pepper and cayenne into a jug and whisking together. When the base is finished in the oven you can pour the filling straight in and then bake for 15-20 minutes.

Carefully remove from the oven and allow the tart to settle inside the tin for half an hour before serving.