Basil Turkey Ham Quiche by Karen Yee

Basil Turkey Ham Quiche

Ingredients for shell crust:

175g  all purpose flour
1 egg yolk (keep the egg white for glazing the shell later)
4 tsp of cold water
100g cold unsalted butter
¼ tsp of salt

Directions:

Prepare an 8” fluted pan with a removable base preferably.

Mix all the ingredients together by hand or with a food processor EXCEPT the cold water (I prefer to use hand).
The mixture should be crumbly.

Then add cold water to bind them. Do not overwork the dough.

Wrap the dough with cling wrap and chill for about 30 mins before pressing into the 8 inch pan.

Chill the pan with the dough again for another 15 mins. Meantime, preheat oven at 220C.

Remove from the fridge and lightly poke holes all over the unbaked shell.

Press a parchment paper over the cold shell and place weights on it (I used another pie pan of a similar size plus some metal cutleries as weights).

Blind bake the shell on the lowest rack for 15 mins, then remove the weights and parchment paper and transfer the pan to the middle rack. Continue to bake for another 10 mins to brown it slightly.

Brush some egg white all over the shell and put it back into the oven for another 3 mins (you may off the heat at this oint).

Let it cool on the rack.

Meantime, you may proceed to make the egg custard.

Ingredients for egg custard

150 g turkey ham cut into bite size pieces
Fresh Basil leaves (amount to your liking).
½ cup of parmesan OR Romano OR Cheddar cheese
2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk
½ heavy cream
2/3 cup of milk
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt to taste (most of the saltiness will be coming from the cheese and ham)

Directions

Preheat oven to 180C.

Add all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk till well combined.

Lay the cheese, ham and basil all over the shell. Repeat another layer the same way on top of the first.

Place the pan on a baking sheet (in case of leakage). Pour the egg mixture over the shell slowly. Do not over fill as the mixture may overflow to the sides of the shell. 

Bake at the lower rack for 15 mins. Then transfer to the middle rack and continue to bake for another 25 mins. A toothpick inserted should come out clean. The quiche should still jiggle a little when done.