Vegan Quiche Lorraine

Vegan Quiche Lorraine

A French (non vegan, non vegetarian) friend of mine, Picky, came to visit and was treated to a select of vegan delicacies which she was pretty impressed with - I'll label those 'French Friend Approved' when I post them' - one of which was a potato gratin which she loved (recipe coming soon!).  But she told me it was impossible to have a vegan quiche.  Tarte salée, yes, but quiche, no.  So obviously I had to rise to that challenge!  

This quiche is made using a similar technique to the one in the potato gratin, whose creamy sauce was the inspiration for this recipe.  We're basically making a creamy sauce, covering some tofu and onion with it, and baking.  It will be rich.  It will be thick.  It will be delicious.  But you do need good tofu, because it will be one of the main flavours.

I'm not going to say you would think it was a dairy cheese laden, lardon stuffed quiche.  But, I will say the texture was excellent, and the depth of flavour was amazing.  This is a major step up from the tofu based quiches I've had in the past.  Tofu makes a great base for a tarte salée (which is a whole different beast) but now that I've tasted this quiche, there will be no going back!

The cashews makes this rich and decadent, and really need to be blended up until completely smooth.  You don't need a fancy blender (I only have a standard one) as long as you soak them over night, and have some patience.  This step is crucial!

Egg pie (as my dad likes to call quiche): you've met your match!

Vegan Quiche Lorraine

 Total time: 1 hour (not including soaking cashews)

Serves: 4 as a main dish

Ingredients:

For the bechamel sauce-

6 tbsp flour

6 tbsp olive oil

Salt pepper

500 ml (two generous cups) vegan cream (I used Oatly)

1/4 tsp bouillion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

5 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

5 tbsp almond milk

200g (1 1/4 cup) dry cashews, soaked overnight, then drained

For the remaining filling -

1 block of smoked tofu

1 large red onion

oil for frying

4 tsp nutritional yeast

Chives for the top (optional)

Pastry crust

I used the olive oil crust recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini - the thyme was a nice touch, but I didn't particularly like the texture.  I am still working on a savoury vegan crust recipe which is just right...when I have one, I'll update it here!

Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F.  Start by making your pastry crust, and pre-baking in a ten inch pie or cake dish for 7 minutes.  

Next, prep the bechamel sauce.  Blend the cashews with half of the cream until completely smooth (add more of the cream if needed to keep your blender processing).  Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the flour, stirring constantly for two minutes.  Then, add the boullion powder, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast and stir until combined.  Whisk in the cream, vinegar and almond milk, and continue to cook on a low heat until the sauce thickens.  Then, add this mixture to the blender, and blend to combine.  Set aside.

Finely chop the onion and smoked tofu.  Fry the tofu until crispy and brown on all sides, then add the onion and continue to cook until carmelised.  Take off the heat and  split into two portions.

Spread half of the onion/tofu mixture onto the bottom of the pre-baked crust.  Sprinkle  2 tsp nutritional yeast over this. Pour half of the sauce mixture on top.  Then add the remaining tofu/onion mix, and sprinkle over the remaining nutritional yeast.  Top with the rest of the creamy sauce, and swirl some olive oil and chives on top, if desired.  

Bake at 180C/350F for 35 - 45 minutes, or until it passes the jiggle test: the center should wobble slightly but the edges should be relatively firm.  Let it cool for at least 30 minutes, until it reaches room temperature, before cutting.  Alternatively, cool in the fridge and serve chilled.