Spinach, crumbly lancashire and ham quiche

Today's the day ............................ to make pastry

Quiche for tea tonight.

I must have made hundreds and hundreds of quiches in my time - of all kinds - some more successful than others. For the pastry for this one, I decided to follow the instructions in my new Mary Berry  cookery book - the one with all her favourite recipes for family and friends.  And (although I do say it myself) it was one of my best efforts. 

So because I think you might be interested, the recipe is as follows:

175g (6oz) plain flour
100g (4oz) butter, cubed 
1 egg, beaten
1 tblsp water

Make the pastry in the usual way.  Roll it out and line a deep, 23cm (9in) loose-bottomed fluted flan tin.  Prick the base all over with a fork, line it with baking paper and baking beans.  Bake in the oven at 200C/180C fan/Gas 6 for 10 minutes until just coloured, remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 5 mins to dry out.  Fill it with whatever you want including 4 beaten eggs and 300ml (0.5 pint) of cream - and cook it at 180C/160C fan/Gas 4 for 30 mins until golden brown and just set in the middle.

Bon appetit ..........................!