Blog Party - Mini Tortilla Quiches

Stephanie is celebrating a year of Blog Parties by going global. She has asked us to pack our bags and visit our favorite places or dream destinations. I decided to revisit Singapore for sentimental reasons.
I took the trip some three years back to visit my best friend who stays there. This wasn't a planned, discussed over several phone calls kind of trip. It was entirely sneaky - my friend had no idea I was coming. The look on her face when she got back from work and found me standing in front of her was priceless. Those shrieks must have woken up the dead :-)

Looking back all I remember of the trip is the laughter. We were laughing in her apartment, in the glitzy malls, in the restaurants.... just about everywhere and all the time. Not without reason I might add, as we had some really funny incidents.
But what is a trip without a little adventure? So a weekend trip to a small island in Malaysia included among other things, a dog chase and a jump from one ferry to another in mid-sea. This sounds very James Bond-ish now but at the time we were shaken and stirred :-)

My friend made sure I tried everything that Singapore had to offer - from kaya (coconut jam) toast in traditional kopitiams; seafood, curry and noodles in foodcourts; satay and roti john in roadside stalls to Singapore Slings in noisy pubs! We reconnected over meals; oohing and aahing over the food, catching up on each other's lives, talking about books and music, jobs and bosses.

The meal that stands out in my memory was in a Turkish restaurant called Ephesus. We ate delicious pide, hummus, kebabs ... and because we were the only customers at the time the owner gave us a quick lesson on Turkish cuisine along with our lunch.
It has been a long time since we got to spend time like that so this trip still looms large in our minds. "Remember the time in Singapore when"...we say and launch into a nostalgic conversation even now.

On to the recipe then. The idea to use tortillas as quiches is from an issue of Better Homes. I am a big fan of quick snacks so this fifteen minute, faux quiches appealed to me immediately. I used cilantro and red pepper hummus in place of the original cream filling.

MINI TORTILLA QUICHES HUMMUS
(makes 12)
a packet of chile flavored flour tortillas*
nonstick cooking spray
For the hummus -
a can of garbanzo beans
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1-2 tbsp of tahini (sesame paste; I used store bought)
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
salt to taste
olive oil
a pinch of paprika (optional)

Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add a little olive oil if the mixture becomes too thick. Adjust seasoning with lemon juice, garlic and salt. Sprinkle paprika on top. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for an hour before using.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Using a round biscuit/ cookie cutter cut 12 circles from the tortillas (you get about 2 circles per tortilla)**.

Press each circle into a muffin cup, pleating the edges if necessary. Fill each tortilla with 1 tablespoon of the filling. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the filling sets.

Taste test -
The tortilla cups are great - perfect as a quick snack or for a potluck. The original recipe had eggs in the filling which I suppose sets well. The hummus on the other hand set only on top, inside it was still a bit creamy. This did not taste bad at all though. The quiches as very versatile as you can use possibly any filling you like.

* Chile tortillas and red pepper hummus were from Whole Foods.
** The tortilla scraps can be toasted and used as croutons

Tags: easy appetizers baked snack