Leek quiche

Ingredients

For the pastry:

90g soft butter/Trex or a mixture of the two (according to your taste)

180g plain flour

pinch salt (if using unsalted butter)

1 tsp sugar

2 egg yolks (keep the whites for later use)

2 tbsp water

For the filling:

4 small leeks, trimmed, washed and chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

soft cheese (I used a homemade lactic cheese, but ricotta or similar would be fine)

2 eggs

the egg whites leftover from the pastry

150ml milk

salt

pepper

Directions

The day before you want to eat the quiche, make the pastry:

1. Put all the pastry ingredients into a bowl and stir with a spoon until they start to come together.
2. At this point you’ll need to use your hand to gather the ingredients into a ball, ensuring everything is well mixed in.
3. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge overnight.

The day you want to eat the quiche:

1. About 2 hours before you want to eat, take the pastry out of the fridge and leave to come up to room temp for about 30 mins
2. Grease your quiche dish & roll the pastry out so it is large enough to cover it.
3. Line the dish, and trim the excess pastry. Use that to fill in any cracks in the pastry case, or reinforce any bits that are a bit thinner.
4. Brush the pastry case with egg white & refrigerate for 30 mins.
5. While the case is chilling, gently sweat the leeks in the olive oil until they’re soft and have become translucent.
6. Heat the oven to gas 4/180C
7. In a jug, whisk together the eggs, egg white, milk and seasoning.
8. To assemble your quiche, first spread the cooked leeks over the base. Then spoon soft cheese (amount according to taste) on top. I probably put 5 or 6 dessert spoons in total. Then pour the milk & egg mixture over the top evenly.
9. Gently place your quiche in the oven and cook for 25-40 minutes, until the pastry is brown and the filling set but with a slight wobble.
10. Enjoy with a fresh salad and some new potatoes.

This recipe tastes even better made with vegetables from Community Harvest Whetstone :)