THIS recipe came about after a donation of slightly overgrown courgettes from a friend’s vegetable plot. Feel free to swap the courgette and watercress for your own favourite produce. As the season changes to autumn you could change in a few cooked leeks instead of the spring onions; a little cooked ham and cheddar can easily replace the goat cheese if this suits your taste. A quiche is a great recipe for young cooks who are interested in experimenting a little, with a simple shortcrust a perfect first step in pastry making.

Ingredients

For the pastry

300g of plain white flour

35g of wholemeal spelt flour

100g of lard

Cold water to mix

A small handful of frozen peas

A small bunch of watercress

1 large yellow courgette

2 – 3 spring onions

150ml of single cream

100ml skimmed milk

3 medium eggs

25g of fresh flat leaf parsley

5 -6 sprigs of fresh dill

80g of a French goats cheese log

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 220C Make your pastry. Combine the white and spelt flour with a pinch of salt. Rub in the lard for a breadcrumb texture before bringing it all together with a little cold water. You are looking for a soft but not sticky dough. Wrap in a tea towel and leave to chill in the fridge.

Put your frozen peas in a small dish and cover with hot water. Set aside. Rough chop the watercress, courgette and spring onions. Finely chop the parsley and dill leaves.

Lay out a large piece of greaseproof paper and sit your pastry on top. Roll it out as thin as you can without tearing the pastry. Use the pastry to line a large quiche tin, cover with another piece of greaseproof and baking beans. Bake for 35 mins before setting the part baked pastry base to one side. Lower the oven temperature to 180C.

Beat together the single cream, milk and eggs before tossing in the chopped herbs. Stir well to combine thoroughly.

Lay the chopped watercress, defrosted peas and courgette in the cooled pastry base. Cut the goats cheese into around seven slices and sit them on top of the green summer vegetables. Pour over the egg, cream and herb mix.

Bake until your quiche is lightly browned on top and just set in the centre.

- Claire Davies is a York food writer with a passion for seasonal ingredients and historic recipes. Her blog, The Greedy Wordsmith, can be found online.