Leek quiche
A leek quiche is a warming dish for your table when the weather turns cool. It’s easy to make, especially if — as I did on a lazy Sunday — you use store-bought puff pastry (pâte feuilletée) for the shell. The alternative, which I admit is significantly tastier, is to make a savory crust yourself (pâte brisée). You’ll find the recipe here.
The basic quiche recipe involves sautéing the leeks in butter and a little olive oil (to even the cooking process), grating some cheese, combining eggs, milk and a little cream, and piling these ingredients into your quiche shell. But there are variations.
You can make the quiche lighter or richer by your choice of milk — whole or partially skimmed. You can also vary the cheese. This quiche is typically made in France with Comté or Gruyère, but many other cheeses could be used. If you can find it, a delicious alternative would be French munster (a pungent cheese that is very different from American munster). You could also try cheddar, Monterey jack, etc. If using a soft cheese, however, you will need to slice it very thinly instead of grating it.
Another question is how to slice the leeks. Usually they are sliced into rounds, but I find that slicing the dark green parts into strips adds a beautiful French country touch.
This quiche requires a 10-inch (25 cm) tart or pie pan. The quantities below will serve 4 people as a main course and 6-8 as a starter.
1 savory tart crust (homemade or store-bought, see above)
1 large sturdy leek or two medium leeks
1 tbsp. (15 g) butter
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper
2-1/2 ounces (75 g) Comté, Gruyère or a similar cheese
3 eggs
1 cup (25 cl) milk
1/4 cup (6 cl) crème fraîche or heavy cream
freshly ground nutmeg
Begin with the crust. If making the pastry yourself, follow the instructions here. If using store-bought puff pastry (pâte feuilletée), line your tart pan with a round of parchment paper, then pat the pastry snuggly into place. Pull the edges up a little and fold them over to create a rim. You can flute the rim if you like. Do not prick the dough.
Refrigerate the crust while you proceed with the recipe.
Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F, gas mark 6).
Rinse the leek or leeks and slice the white part into rounds. Slice the remaining green part in half vertically and rinse again to remove any sand. Now chop into sections about 3 inches (8 cm) long.
In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil to sizzlling. Add the leeks, turn the heat down to medium and sauté, stirring occasionally, until they soften, about 10 minutes. If the leeks start to brown, turn down the heat. When the leeks are tender, use a wooden spatula to separate the rounds and greens Add 1/4 tsp. salt and grind on some black pepper. Leave in the pan while proceeding with the recipe.
Grate the cheese, using the large holes of your grater.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and cream. Add 1/4 tsp. salt and grind on some black pepper. Grate a little nutmeg over the mixture. Whisk again.
Now for the fun part: assembly. Scatter the leeks evenly over the chilled crust. Pour the egg-milk mixture over the leeks. Scatter the grated cheese on top.
Bake until the quiche is golden brown, about 30 minutes. The baking time can vary according to your oven and the depth of the quiche, so keep an eye on it towards the end.
Serve piping hot or, if making the quiche in advance, reheat in the oven before serving. Serves 4 as a main course, 6-8 as a starter.
