Ham and Spinach Quiche - Make Ahead

With light, buttery pastry and a deliciously savoury filling - lunch doesn’t get much better than this! Delicious hot or cold. If you can, use a metal flan tin as it will conduct heat efficiently to cook the pastry to give a crisp base. Suitable for freezing.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 4-6
• Yields: 1 9in quiche

Ingredients

• 8  ounces all-purpose flour
• 1  pinch salt
• 4  ounces  chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 12  tablespoons  chilled water

• Filling

• 1⁄2 ounce unsalted butter
• 4  scallions, finely chopped
• 10  ounces fresh spinach, washed
• 4  ounces  roast ham, chopped
• 3  ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 2  large eggs
• 7  tablespoons milk
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the unsalted butter, rubbing it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the chilled water and mix it in with a round-bladed knife until the pastry clings together. Use your hand to form the dough into a ball – it should be firm enough to roll out without cracking. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and chill for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F
3. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a 9 inch flan ring or flan dish. Line with a piece of crumpled foil or greaseproof paper and baking beans and bake ‘blind’ (i.e. without a filling) for 15 minutes.
4. Take the flan from the oven and remove the foil or paper and baking beans. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F
5. To make the filling, melt the unsalted butter in a frying pan and fry the scallions for 3-4 minutes until soft. At the same time cook the spinach in a tiny amount of water for 2-3 minutes, until wilted. Drain well, squeezing out the excess moisture with the back of a spoon. Cool the scallions and the spinach.
6. Scatter the cooked ham, scallions and spinach over the base of the flan and sprinkle the cheese on top. Beat the eggs and milk together with a little salt and pepper. Pour into the flan case, then bake for 30-35 minutes, until set.