A quiche is surprisingly easy to make
Not everyone has a sweet tooth, and at times nothing will satisfy a craving quite like a bite of a savoury quiche or salty condiment. Things like breads, condiments and quiches may look accomplished and therefore complicated, but they're actually very easy to make from home with a few simply ingredients.
Quiches
Pastry is simple enough to make, but you can cheat by buying a shop-bought version. If you'd rather make your own, mix flour, butter and water in a bowl till you have a firm dough, then roll out onto a flour-covered surface. After chilling for half an hour you'll need to bake the pastry before filing with eggs, cream and other ingredients. Common ingredients include cheese, ham, onion, spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes.
Savoury Condiments
There are many condiments you can make at home to accompany your meals or add an extra flavor to pasta, sandwiches or soups. Pesto is extremely easy, all you need is basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, a hard cheese like Pecorino or Parmesan and a blender. Tapenade is just as simply, you just need olives, garlic, olive oil, capers and anchovies if desired. Make salsas for meat by finely chopping tomato, onion, garlic, chili and pepper and combining with vinegar.
Bread
There are numerous ways to make your own bread. You can cheat by buying a ready-made break mix, use a breadmaker or make the dough from scratch. The preparation and kneading of the dough itself doesn't take long, but you will need to allow it to rise overnight and then bake it for at least half an hour the following day. Experiment by using wholewheat flour and spelt; you can also make sourdough which doesn't require you to add yeast as it absorbs the yeast that is naturally present in the air although this is not recommended if you live somewhere with high pollution levels.
Savoury Biscuits
Savoury biscuits and crackers are easy to make, and are ideally suited to cheese platters. Make a dough with flour, butter, water and milk and add grated cheese if you wish; Emmental and Parmesan are good choices. You can add whatever herbs and spices you fancy like rosemary and paprika, and even seeds, try sunflower, sesame and poppy-seeds.
