Give me a quiche.

Prosciutto, mushroom and leek quiche with cucumber, radish and red cabbage salad

I am very conscious as a food blogger as to how limiting it can be to currently eliminate an entire food group from my eating habits.I am not an advocate of low carbohydrate cooking and eating, I certainly don't imagine I will be doing this for the rest of my life as is the apparent necessary way, and I regularly cook carbohydrates for Neil, who has no need to watch his food intake or follow any particular diet. For me, this kind of diet is far more appropriate and desirable than any other. I would rather eat a piece of belly pork with its layers of crispy, umami skin, soft fat and tender, sweet meat than a bowl of pasta with some kind of low fat sauce with a sprinkling of cheese. Therefore, I will continue with what I am doing for now but will also cook some high carbohydrate  meals for Neil, who I don't think should be denied some of the foods he loves, for example: Quiche.

Recipe below pictures

The dough

Blind baking with black eyed peas

My old but trusty weighing scales

The egg, cream and cheese mixture

Salad of radish, cucumber, bell pepper and red cabbage

Prosciutto, mushroom, leeks, butter and cider

Lots of Parmesan on top

The finished quiche

Strawberry jello with rosewater whipped cream

My dad is a retired baker and both my mum and sister have excellent instinctive cooking skills. My mum and dad owned and ran their own bakery and shop for many years with much success and my sister also ran the shop when my parents decided it was time to semi-retire. Even years before that, she used to make an excellent quiche to sell in the shop which was a far cry from the mass produced varieties which can be watery and lacking in flavour. My sister made a dense, cheesy variety with a flaky crust that shattered when you cut into it and remained a little chewy on the bottom. Our family home was part of the whole bakery and shop and constantly smelled of fresh bread, but of course, we lost the sensation of it before too long and would always feel a little cheated by our senses whenever anyone visited and sighed contentedly when they sniffed the air. Some of my dad's recipes are worth mentioning and I will publish them when I get his permission, but for now, I made a quiche tonight.

Recipe

Pastry

7oz all purpose flour

3.5 oz butter

salt

4 tbsp water

• Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, add the butter in cubes and rub together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

• Add the water a little at a time and mix until a soft dough forms that leaves the bowl clean.

• Roll out on a floured surface and preheat the oven to 400oF.

• Line the bottom of a quiche dish with wax paper and butter the sides. Cover with the pastry and press into the sides.

• Pour some rice or beans into the case and bake for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and reduce the temperature to 375oF. Remove the beans.

Filling

8 slices Prosciutto

2 small leeks, sliced

6 mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup cider or apple juice

a little salt and pepper

2 eggs

1/4 cup cream

1/2 cup cheddar

1/4 cup Parmesan

• Fry the Prosciutto in a little oil until crispy, add the leeks, mushrooms and butter and stir well.

• Add the cider or juice and reduce heat to low. Saute until the leek is soft and the liquid evaporated.

• Place this mixture into the pastry case.

• Whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, pepper and cheddar cheese and pour over the vegetable mixture.

• Sprinkle the Parmesan on top and a little chopped sage or oregano.

• Bake for 30 minutes.

I didn't eat any pastry but Neil tells me it was sufficiently flaky, he asked if I had added cheese, which I hadn't, so the vast amounts of cheese I did add to the mixture permeated through! The filling was very cheesy, the Parmesan on top adding just the right amount of saltiness, which worked well with the sweetness of the apple juice to balance the flavours.