Winter doesn’t have to be all doom, gloom & every shade of grey. Well, except for the weather that is, I have no control over that, but I do have control in my own kitchen & if there’s ever a need to add a bit fo colour & brightness to it, then it would be winter. In terms of fresh colourful fruit & veg, there’s not an awful lot fo choose from in the winter besides the regulars (carrots, parsnips, sprouts etc.) but thankfully, a lot of the late summer & autumn harvest has a long enough shelf life to see us through (this is my response whenever someone asks me why I grow so many onions!).

The best of these storage heroes though would have to be squash & pumpkin, lasting anywhere up to around 3 months in the pantry. Tender, sweet & full of colour, this is just what I need to bring a bit of joy back to the kitchen right now. You can pretty much pair squash with anything, but a particular favourite of mine is sage, another kitchen garden hero as it can be harvested all year round. A truly delicious pairing, whether they’re simply roasted together, tossed through some pasta or in a risotto or as I’ve used them here, in a gorgeous squash & sage quiche. This melt in your mouth quiche is full of tender roasted squash, pungent crispy sage, sweet nutty Comte cheese & a buttery pastry case. This is a great vegetarian dish if you’re looking to cut down on meat & looks impressive enough to crack out at a gathering.
SQUASH & SAGE QUICHE
(makes one 22cm tart)
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
- 250g plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 120g butter, cubed
- 1 egg yolk
- 1-2 tbsp cold water
For the filling:
- 300g butternut squash or pumpkin (roughly a small squash)
- 15g fresh sage leaves
- 300ml double cream
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 100ml milk
- 150g comte cheese, grated
Method:
For the pastry:
- To make the pastry sift together the flour & salt into a large bowl
- Add in the cubed butter & use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
- Next, add the egg yolk to the bowl & stir this through
- Then add the water to the bowl 1 tbsp at a time until, using just enough to bring the dough together
- Shape the dough into a flattened disc, wrap in cling film & leave in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes
- Once the pastry has chilled, roll out to approximately 3mm thick and use it to line the base & sides of a 23cm tart tin, leave any excess to hang over the edge of the tin
- Use a fork to pierce holes in the bottom of the pastry case before lining with baking parchment & fill this with baking beans
- Place the tart case back in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes
- Once chilled, blind bake the pastry case for 15 minutes at 180°C
- Remove the baking beans & parchment & return the case to the oven for a further 5 minutes, until it starts to turn golden
- Remove the case from the oven & whilst still warm, use a sharp knife to trim away off any excess pastry before setting aside to cool
For the filling:
- To make the filling, begin by preparing the squash. Peel the squash, cut in half & remove the seeds before chopping half of the squash into cubed chunks & the other into strips (approx 1 inch in thickness)
- Place the squash onto a baking tray, drizzle over some olive oil & season before roasting in the oven for 15-20 minutes until tender but still holding its shape, remove & set aside to cool
- Next, set aside a few of the sage leaves for later & roughly chop the rest
- Heat a knob of butter in a frying pan until beginning to sizzle then add the sage leaves & fry for 1 minute, set aside
- Whilst everything is cooling, make the base of your quiche. In a large jug or bowl, combine the double cream, eggs, nutmeg, milk & grated cheese & whisk until smooth
- Add the fried sage leaves, along with any remaining butter in the pan to the base mixture
- Add the cubed chunks of squash to the mixture & stir everything together
- Carefully pour the filling into the pastry case
- Finally, add the sliced squash on top of the quiche, along with the reserved sage leaves
- Bake the quiche at 170C for 25-30 minutes, until the filling is starting to colour along the edges & the quiche is just set in the middle (give it a shake to test, it should have a nice wobble to it)
- Allow the quiche to cool completely before removing from the tin & serving
