I’m on a mission to make kick ass vegan appetizers this year, last year I went full on with the main meal and forgot about the cute lil’ party finger foods, the BEST part, instead I was stuck with a sorry little tub of store brought falafel. I know that’s like hardly the saddest Christmas story ever…. but none the less I tend to make amends for the horrors of Christmas past. So I made this little recipe for this little vegan Quiche, which in turn makes little slices of vegan Quiche, which then makes for a super cute appetizer. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I enjoyed making and eating it and stay tuned for a few more cook-mas buffet food ideas on the blog during the upcoming weeks.
Ingredients:
Pastry:
1/2 cup plain flour
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/4 cup diced, chilled vegetable shortening or “baking block”
pinch o’ salt
Filling:
1 cup grated vegan cheese, like vegusto
4 tbsp gram flour
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch o’ fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tbsp fresh chopped chives, extra for garnish
1 tbsp olive oil

Method:
Make the pastry by combining the salt, flax and flour in a mixing bowl and rubbing in the fat. Then carefully stir in a little ice-cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, until you have a firm but roll-able dough. Grease a 4″ mini spring form cake pan. Roll the dough into about a 6″ circle and press neatly into the cake pan, letting the excess hang over the top. Don’t trim the excess away just yet, cover and let sit in the fridge for about half an hour, then trim off the excess with a knife. Preheat the oven to 200c/400f. Pierce the base of the tart shell with a fork, line the inside with baking parchment and fill the tart shell with baking beans. Blind bake for 10 minutes. Prepare the filling by whisking together the gram flour, almond milk, salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin, chives and olive oil. Remove the baking beads and layer the cheese and filling mix into the pastry shell. Bake for 20 minutes in the tin, then carefully remove from the pan and bake on a baking sheet for an extra 10 minutes to make the crust nice and crisp. Cool slightly before slicing and serving.