what's in season + vegan summer quiche

what's cheap & cheerful in aus right now.

The end of summer has brought endless rain to the east coast of Australia. It’s not great, but let’s make lemonade out of lemons: the veggies are amazing right now, and if you know what you’re looking for, they can be cheap. My number one tip is, go to a local fruit and veggie shop at the end of the day. They should have a corner where they sell heaps of weird and wonderful veggies for a great price.

And what to do with a vast quantity of veggies whose expiry dates are looming? Make a huge quiche of course!

But first - let me tell you what to look out for.

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best late summer veg:

• mushrooms

• green beans

• zucchini

• eggplant

• pattypans (yellow squash to some!)

• chillies

• sweetcorn

• squash

• onions

• okra

• radish

• tomatoes

• cucumber

• lettuce

Screenshot the list, get to the shops, and let’s make that wonderful quiche! Note: you can use virtually any veggies you have for this one, these are just my favourites.

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ingredients.

(serves 4)

1 sheet shortcrust pastry (check if vegan; coles & woolies own brand ones are)

1/2 block (about 150g) firm tofu

1 block (about 300g) soft tofu

1/2 onion, red or white, diced

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 zucchini, in rounds

5/6 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 bunch fresh oregano/thyme/rosemary/basil, roughly chopped/ destemmed

1tbsp vegan butter

2tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 cup vegan cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

how to.

1. Preheat the oven to 180c. Remove shortcrust pastry from packaging and place on top of a square baking tin to defrost, should be around 10-15 minutes, you can chop up the veggies in the meantime.

2. In the blender or food processor, blitz the two kinds of tofu, nutritional yeast, and some salt and pepper. Leave in blender.

3. Heat butter in a frying pan, and fry the onion, herbs and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 3 min. Add in the zucchini and mushrooms (or any other veggies) and fry until slightly browned. Turn off the heat.

4. Add in the tofu mixture, blend all ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper, and mix in the vegan cheese.

5. Fit your shortcrust pastry to the tin, gently, so the bottom of the pastry touches the tin and the corners line up.

6. Add in your quiche mixture, spread until flat. Sprinkle some extra herbs, cheese, or nooch on top if desired.

7. Bake for about 25 mins or until the top is golden brown, serve with a salad or extra ( seasonal ;) ) veggies!