Mini quiche light

Today I would like to present my try to Lorraine Pascale recipe. This is light version of mini quiche. The regular pastry was replaced with filo pastry, some of eggs with egg whites... I have to say I like them better than regular quiche. The pastry was flaky and crunchy, not soggy. The filling was creamy with crunchy bites of bacon and small onion chunks.  What I like the most was that it took two bites to eat them. This is perfect finger food for this festive season. 

Ingredients for 12 mini quiche:

• 1 onion
• 150g bacon trimmed of any fat and diced
• pinch of thyme
• 200g half - fat creme fraiche
• 75 ml low fat milk
• 25 g finely grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• pinch of nutmeg
• 4 and 1/2 sheets filo pastry
• 1 tbsp mustard
• slat and pepper
• olive oil

Dice the onion and bacon. Cook the onion until soft then add bacon and thyme and continue to cook until the bacon is cook through. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Brush the muffin tin cups with olive oil. Cut the filo pastry into squares 12 x 12 cm approximately. Line each muffin tin cup with three pieces of filo pastry. Make sure to push the pastry down so it is in the corners of each muffin hole. Then with a brush or your finger spread small amount of mustard on the bottom of each mini quiche. Set aside. 

Pour the milk, creme - fraiche, Parmesan, eggs, egg whites, nutmeg, salt, pepper into a measuring jar and whisk them with fork until smooth. 

Place the muffin tin in front of you divide the fried bacon and onion among all mini quiche bases, then pour in the mixture of eggs and cream. Brush the exposed pastry with a little oil.

Insert the muffin tin into preheated oven. Bake until the filling won't be wobbly in the middle and filo pastry turns gold, about 30 minutes. 

Remove from the oven. Leave for a few minutes in muffin tin. Then holding gently by exposed pastry twist a little and lift up. Sprinkle with chopped chive.

 Enjoy !

Muffins with plums and bacon

Today I would like to present a savoury plums and bacon muffins. This recipe comes from Carol Pastor '75 best - ever muffins' cookbook and originally is called devils on horseback. Why ? Because their main ingredient is the popular starter, fresh dates wrapped in bacon and fried. As I couldn't get fresh dates anywhere I replaced them with fresh plums. 

The muffins were very moist and dense with sweet and salty flavour. They were packed with sweet juicy bits of plum, crisp chunks of bacon and plenty herbs. 

Ingredients for 8 muffins:

• 225g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 12 slices of bacon
• 24 wedges of plums
• 2 tbsp olive oil for frying
• 1 tbsp butter for frying
• 2 tsp oregano + some for decoration
• 115g soft herb and garlic cream cheese
• 175ml milk
• 75g butter melted
• 2 eggs
• ground black pepper

Cut the slices of bacon in half the get 24 slices. Wrap each plum wedge into a bacon. You can use a toothpick to hold them together.

In a frying pan heat the oil and butter over a medium heat. Add the bacon rolls and saute them turning them in the juices until they are crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool down.

Sift the flour, baking powder, oregano and sugar into a bowl.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Melt the butter and set aside to cool down.

When the content of the frying pan is cool enough to handle, slice each of the bacon-wrapped plums into small discs. Return them to the frying pan. 

In a separate bowl beta in the cream cheese into a milk, with the butter and eggs. Pour into a dry ingredients and stir until part blended. Scrape the bacon and plum slices with any of the cooking juices into the batter and stir until evenly combined. Do not over mix.

Divide the batter between the paper cases and sprinkle with oregano. Bake for 25 minutes until well risen.

Enjoy !

Breakfast in a ramekin

I think it was last Saturday when I had prepared this breakfast. I'm not sure but it must have been cold on that day. I thought then it would be nice, filling, warm, tasty beginning of lazy day off.

Ingredients for breakfast for 2 :

• 2 slices of wholemeal toast bread 
• 2 slices of bacon
• 2 eggs
• pinch of salt
• butter

Slightly grease 2 ramekins. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200C. 

Fry the bacon on a frying pan until crisp.

Cut off the crust from the bread slices. Place the bread on the bottom of ramekins.

Then place slice of bacon on each piece of bread. Make a well. Next break an egg into each ramekin. Sprinkle with salt. Place small cuts of butter on top of each egg.

Bake into preheated oven for 15 -20 minutes. Time depends on how you would like to to have you egg done.

Good served with tomatoes and freshly brewed tea or coffee. 

Enjoy !

Potato nests

I have seen this recipe in ' The Little Paris Kitchen. Cooking with Rachel Kahoo'. I like the idea very much and decided to try it in my own kitchen. Because this dish is baked in muffin tin I have decided to publish it on my blog. The recipe is also available on line on this website. 

Ingredients for 6 large potato nests:

• 1tbsp butter
• 500g potatoes (used those which don't fall apart while being cooked)
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 200g smoked bacon
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 250g Reblochon cheese I used Camembert

Grease the muffin tin holes. Preheat the oven to 180C.

Peel of the potatoes, then cut them into matchsticks size pieces.Set aside.

Dice the bacon. Chop the onion. Finely chop the garlic. Dice the cheese.

before baking

Put the butter, bay leaf, garlic, bacon  and onion on frying pan and cook until bacon golden brown. Then add the wine and reduce it until only a few tablespoons of liquid remain. Remove bay leaf. Add the potatoes and stir them in. 

Remove pan from the heat and add the cheese. Stir well and transfer to prepared earlier muffin tin. 

Bake for 15 -20 minutes until golden warm. Serve hot.

 Enjoy !

Bacon and hazelnut muffins

It's time for something different today. I checked my fridge and there was  a piece of bacon sitting on a shelf. I wasn't really sure if I can use it for muffins, but found interesting recipe in  a book 'New Italian Cuisine. Muffins'. These muffins taste like scramble eggs with bacon and onion for me. Maybe because they contain fried onion ? And thanks hazelnuts they are very crunchy :)  

Ingredients for 6 muffins:

• 125g diced bacon
• 1 small chopped onion
• 25g chopped hazelnuts
• 110g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 45g melted butter
• 60ml natural yogurt
• 100ml milk
• butter for greasing baking tin

Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease 6 hole muffin tin.

On a Teflon frying pan fry bacon for 3-4 min until brown. Then add the onion and nuts, fry them until onion gets soft. Leave on a side to cool down.

Into a bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl whisk the egg, butter, milk and yogurt. Whisk them well. Gradually add dry ingredients and fried bacon, onion and nuts. Mix only to combine all ingredients. 

Spoon the batter into baking tin. Bake for 20 min until muffin well risen and spongy. 

After baking leave muffins in the tin to cool down. Muffins are very good warm and cold.