Gluten and dairy free quiche with homemade Soy Ricotta

My 2 little quiches

You know that moment of panic when you realise you have taken anything out of the freezer for dinner tonight? Well this is what happened to me. Although I might be luckier than most that I am a stay at home mum of a little monkey who decided to sleep for two and half hours this afternoon leaving me time to make 2 types of pastries and a homemade soy ricotta. I have to admit that I imagine the ricotta to turn out so badly that I didn't take any pictures of it but next I certainly will. It is really easy to make and can, of course be made with cow's milk. I am actually thinking of trying it again with goat's milk (watch this space).

For the soy ricotta I inspired myself from this website: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000282.html.

I just heated up 1Litre of soy milk and added 4 tsp of white vinegar to it. I let it boil to 80 Degree C, took it off the heat, and scooped the curds into a pre- prepared colander lined with a cheese cloth. I let it drip a bit and then hung it on the clothe line outside to cool and keep drying. I left it there for about 15 minutes. I then put the soy ricotta in a container in the fridge until I needed it tonight... Not quite actually, I did spread some on some corn cracker some with salt and dried herbs and others with honey... That was a delicious, easy and quick lunch.

For the pastry. I have used this recipe with a few changes. You can find the original recipe here: http://jeenaskitchen.blogspot.co.nz/2008/01/how-to-make-gluten-free-pastry.html.

- 1 cup of buckwheat flour
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum
- 2 Tblsp of olive oil
- 1Tblsp of canola oil
- 1 tsp of coconut oil (this made the pastry very buttery tasting)
- cold water

Mix the buckwheat flour and salt well. Add the oil. With a pastry knife or a butter knife mix the flour and oils. The pastry should still look a little dry with lumps.
Slowly add the cold water and mix with your hand. Once you can roll the pastry into a ball, it's ready.

I wrapped mine in some plastic film and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

I blind baked it just before I prepared the filling for about 15 minutes at 200 degree C.

For the filling:
- 1 cup of frozen vegetables (defrosted in the microwave for 5 minutes or less)
- 1 Tbsp of non- dairy butter (I use avocado Olivani)
- 1 cup of ham (cut into cubes)
- 1 Tbsp of rice flour
- 1/2 cup of milk (preferably at room temp)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in the pan. Add the vegetables and the ham. Let them warm up and get coated with some of the butter. Add the rice flour and stir the vegetables and ham so they are coated in it. Add the milk slowly and keep stirring to avoid lumps. Add the egg, stir so it is completely combined. Season to taste.

Place the filling into the shells and bake until set and warm through. For those little ones it took about 20 minutes.

Cut in the middle, before being devoured

I guess it would have been nice with a fresh green salad but it was packed with vegetables so I guess the goodness is still there.

Happy baking everyone :)