My husband has named this Heavenly Quiche because he loves it. No wonder, since it’s got so many of his favourite things in it, not the least of which is Meredith Dairy’s Goat Cheese. For pastry, I use a King Arthur Flour recipe that has been adapted by Casey Barber, which I am inserting here. But if you would like to read a PDF, from a 2011 blog post written by her, on the details of making a fine pie crust, click here. This recipe makes two crusts, so I usually save one to make a dessert pie. Also, I typically use a mixture of white and wholemeal organic spelt flour, rather than all-purpose flour. For those who do not know what a “stick” of butter is, don’t worry. It’s 113.5 grams per stick; so, if you are making two crusts, use 227 grams of unsalted butter. I have not measured the flour in grams, but simply use the old-school measuring-cup routine of piling flour delicately into the cup, and then scraping the top off so it’s butter-knife-even. However, it’s about 298 grams, if you want to weigh it.
To make the filling …
Ingredients:
8 Eggs
Dollop of fresh pure cream
Dried parsley
3 Leeks, thinly sliced (white part only)
Nob of butter, for sautee
8-10 thin slices of pumpkin *
Meredith Dairy Goat Cheese, marinated in olive oil and herbs (or, your favourite goat cheese)
Optional: a few baby tomatoes, sliced in halves, or regular tomato slices
Optional: finely grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
- Make the pastry first, chill, and roll out. You should complete 2 and 3 below while the pastry is chilling.
- Roast pumpkin slices, and set aside to cool.
- Sautee leeks in butter. Salt and pepper to taste, and set aside to cool.
- Once you’ve rolled out the pastry and placed it into either a quiche pan or a deep pie dish, beat eggs with a large dollop of pure cream, and then add about a teaspoon of dried parsley, and salt and pepper (to taste).
- Layer pastry bottom with pumpkin slices and cover with leeks.
- Crumble goat cheese over leeks. Use however much seems right for you, as tastes can vary widely.
- Pour egg mixture on top of vegetables and cheese.
- If using tomato slices or halved baby tomatoes, add these on top of the egg mixture, and then sprinkle with finely grated parmesan cheese.
- Bake for approximately an hour at 180 C (356 F). When ready, the top should have browned and puffed up somewhat (it will settle after you remove it from the oven). Insert a skewer in the centre to check that the eggs are cooked through, but be careful not to dry out the quiche by over-baking. You may need to cover the top loosely with aluminium foil to prevent over-baking the top of the quiche, and the edges of the crust.
* Use your favourite type of pumpkin. I tend to use Queensland Blue, Japanese, or Butternut, as those are popular varieties here in Australia.
