Smoked Salmon Quiche With Kale And Basil, And Sesame Seed Crust - sesame seeds

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Toast the sesame seeds in a small dry frying pan over medium heat until fragrant and golden. Tip onto a plate and leave to cool.
• Meanwhile, grease an 8-inch straight-sided, loose-bottomed flan or cake tin (1-inch deep) and set it on a baking tray.
• Once the sesame seeds are cool, tip them and the remaining pastry ingredients, along with 3 tablespoons of water, into a food processor. Whiz together until they form damp crumbs.
• Alternatively, to make by hand, put the flour and butter into a large bowl. Pick up bits of the mixture with the tips of your fingers and rub your thumb into your fingers to blend the ingredients together, allowing it to fall back into the bowl. Keep doing this until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir the sesame seeds through. Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl and stir into the crumbs really well with a small knife until it starts to form lumps.
• Add 3 tablespoons of water to bring it together.
• Dust a clean work surface with a little flour and tip the dough out onto it. Bring it together into a smooth ball then roll it out to the thickness of that of a nickel (about 2mm) to give a roughly 8 2/3-inch circle (slightly larger than the diameter of the tin).
• Carefully lower the pastry into the prepared tin, easing it against the bottom and edges. Use a small, sharp knife to trim the excess pastry off the top rim, using bits of the excess to seal up holes or cracks if necessary. Scrunch up a circular piece of baking parchment a little larger than the tin, then unscrunch and sit it in the pastry crust. Tip in ceramic baking beans or dried beans and bake for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil or butter in a medium pan over a low-medium heat. Add the onion and cook down for about 10 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, beat the creme fraiche, yogurt, and eggs together in a large bowl until combined. Stir in the kale, season, and set aside.
• After the pastry has been cooking for 20 minutes, remove the paper and beans and return the pastry crust to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until the pastry is cooked, the base is sandy to the touch, and it looks lightly golden brown.
• Once softened, remove the onion from the heat and leave to cool. Once cool, stir into the kale mix.
• Once the pastry crust is cooked, remove from the oven and pour in the kale mixture. Arrange the smoked salmon on top. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the salmon is catching colour and the quiche cooked through to the centre. Remove and allow to cool a little. Carefully remove from the tin, cut into quarters and top with freshly torn basil.