{"id":732,"date":"2014-10-18T17:08:33","date_gmt":"2014-10-18T16:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=732"},"modified":"2014-10-18T17:23:27","modified_gmt":"2014-10-18T16:23:27","slug":"salmon-and-watercress-quiche-with-pink-peppercorns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=732","title":{"rendered":"Salmon and Watercress Quiche with Pink Peppercorns"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Salmon, watercress and new potatoes brought together in perfect harmony. \u00a0I love this quiche.<\/p>\n

I admit I’m wistfully clinging to memories of fine weather here – because I do think this is a perfect lunch for a bright Spring day when the sky is cornflower blue, the clouds a collection of fluffy cotton wool balls and I’ve yet to suffer the disappointment that, yet again, I have failed to water my hanging baskets effectively.<\/p>\n

\"Salmon<\/a><\/p>\n

In actuality, it’s been a wet week and if there’s much more rainfall I’ll have to bring out my high heeled, wedged wellington boots. \u00a0(Yes, I know what you’re thinking – urban creature to the core.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Salmon<\/a><\/p>\n

The English watercress season is coming to an end (it peaks in the Spring and then again in the Autumn) and it seemed wrong to ignore the bunches at the market this week. \u00a0Besides which, it’s a wonder food. \u00a0It’s rich in vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, magnesium and folic acid. \u00a0So that goes some way to balancing out the double cream \u2026, doesn’t it? \u00a0Besides which, Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) who was generally thought of as a man of great ability\u00a0claimed it could restore a youthful bloom to women. \u00a0Which settles it. \u00a0A ‘must buy’ ingredient.<\/p>\n

This recipe I found in a lovely book called ‘The Higgidy Cookbook’ by Camilla Stephens. \u00a0I’m an inveterate ‘tinkerer’ with recipes, but this I’ve left alone. \u00a0I think it’s beautifully balanced and, bar halving the amount of dill because Jem prefers it that way, it is as it ever was.<\/p>\n

\"Salmon<\/a><\/p>\n

Begin with the pastry. Even though this pastry is slightly ‘richer’ than the one I used in my Lemon Meringue Pie<\/a>, the cardinal rules remain the same. \u00a0The first being, don’t over-handle it. The second, don’t skip the chilling.<\/p>\n

Sift your flour and salt into a large bowl. Then add the fat, cut into smallish cubes. Here I’m using all butter. \u00a0It shouldn’t be soft, which would make your pastry difficult to work with, but it needn’t be fridge hard either. There’s a ‘sweet’ point between minimal handling and keeping everything cool. \u00a0(If you don’t mind washing up, which I do, a food processor is a perfectly acceptable option. \u00a0Flour, butter and cheese in the processor and pulse until the mixture resembles ‘breadcrumbs’ before adding the egg\/water liquid. \u00a0Bring together to form a dough, and wrap in cling film to chill.)<\/em><\/p>\n

For my boys, here’s the science – what you’re actually doing by ‘rubbing in’ is coating tiny bits of flour with fat – before you add any liquid. It’s a raincoat! The idea is to stop liquid penetrating the flour. Liquid + flour = gluten proteins. And gluten proteins give you tough pastry which you’d prefer not to eat.<\/p>\n

Clean hands, not cold. (There’s no need to run your hands under a freezing tap or concern yourself as to whether you’re a cold heart, warm hands kind of person. Anyone can make pastry.) \u00a0Butter cut into smallish cubes, at a squeezable temperature.<\/p>\n