Vegetarian Quiche Lorraine - so good it'll make you shiver!

Vegetarian Quiche Lorraine

Here's one from the vaults - I'm working on vegan-ifying it, but its not perfect yet...we'll get there!

In the meantime: this is so incredibly good and incredibly realistic that if made with good tofu and cheese, you will absolutely be able to fool your carnivorous friends.  In general, I'm not a fan of cooking with mock meats.  I prefer to just add some delicious veggies and forget about the meaty original.  But while in France I got somewhat addicted to quiche Lorraine for my monthly meat splurges, and when I tried some Engine Shed smoked tofu for the first time, I knew what had to be done.

This is essentially a technique: the actual recipe was taken from Chef John's Quiche Lorraine video, so check that out for the full ingredients list.  I doubled the amount of onion, and used mature cheddar cheese when I made this, which I highly recommend.  The result was absolutely perfect - I honestly don't think I would have been able to tell the difference between the vegetarian version and the lardons version from our bakery in Toulouse in a double-blind test.  Really.  It was that good.

This substitution depends utterly on your tofu.  You need to have access to a high-quality, delicious, extra-firm smoked tofu (in the Edinburgh area, Engine Shed tofu is the best, hands-down).  If your tofu is bitter tasting, falls apart in your hands, or is just bland, it won't fool anyone.  If you can get high-quality non-smoked tofu, you can smoke it yourself by following the instructions on vegandad's blog.  

Vegetarian Quiche Lorraine

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

1 block of extra-firm, smoked tofu

Olive oil for frying - about 3 tablespoons

Slice the tofu into small pieces (about 1 cm long, and a half cm wide, or whatever size reminds you of bacon slivers), then drain thoroughly.  Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat, and add the tofu.  Stir and brown until each tofu piece has become solid and crunchy on the outside.  Take off the heat, and set aside.  Continue on with Chef John's Quiche Lorraine Recipe.  Then, amaze yourself and everyone around you at how realistic and delicious it is!