Leek and Pepper Boursin Quiche

We celebrated Easter a few weeks ago with a family brunch buffet.   One of the easiest dishes to make for this type of meal is a quiche.   It's a great way to add eggs to the menu and can be prepared in advance and frozen until ready to use.    The traditional quiche is made with bacon (lardons), onion and gruyère cheese.  This leek and pepper quiche is just a combination of  ingredients I like.  The natural sweetness of the leek balances the spice and salt of the cheese very well.  You can use your imagination to create combinations that suit your palate (sautéed mushroom and bacon is also very good).


This recipe can be used to make one large quiche and either  individual (great for lunch) or little appetizer ones.  The only variation will be in cooking time.  If the centre of the quiche is firm when you touch it gently, it is ready.

The only other thing to remember is that the crust needs to be pre-cooked before the liquid ingredients are added.  I thought I could omit this step once by placing the quiche in the lower part of the oven closer to the heat source but I  ended up with a soggy undercooked bottom crust.  

Making your own shortcrust pastry is really quite easy and takes only a few minutes.  Once you make it a few times, you will see how simple it is.  If you don't have time, don't worry, store bought is fine.   If you would like to try, here is how to do it.

Shortcrust pastry:  1 large single crust or 5 individual 6'' single crusts

• 200g (about 1 1/4 cups) white flour
• 100g (1/2 cup) of salted butter left at room temperature for 1/2 hour (the butter should be just malleable but still cold) - cut in large pieces
• 1/2 tsp salt if using salted butter or 1 tsp if using unsalted butter
• 3-4tbsps of cold water 

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1. Place the flour (200g - 1 1/4 cups) and salt (1/2tsp) in food processor and pulse to combine;
2. Add the pieces of butter (100g - 1/2 cup);
3. Pulse the mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs;
4. While running the machine, add the water, one tablespoon at a time, through the feeder tube until dough starts to come together (do not over mix as the dough will become too elastic);
5. Transfer to your work surface and form a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes; (you can leave the dough longer but will have to let it sit at room temperature a bit before rolling out to soften the butter - this resting process relaxes the gluten formed during the mixing process and will give you a dough that shrinks less in the oven);
6. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F);
7. Roll out the pastry dough large enough to overlap your pie plate by about 1.5cm - 1/2'').  Place it in the the pie plate and pierce the bottom several times with a fork to prevent it from rising in the oven;
8. Blind cook the pastry by covering it with aluminimum foil and filling with dried beans (again to prevent rising);
9. Place in the oven and immediately reduce heat to 375°F (190°C) and cook for 10 minutes;
10. Remove aluminum foil and beans and return to oven to cook for an additional 5 minutes;
11. Let rest while you prepare the quiche filling.

Leek and Pepper Boursin Quiche -1 large or 5 individual
(you can also make appetizer size using a muffin pan)

• 1 medium leek - about 125g (white and light green parts only), cleaned, sliced in half lenghtwise and then cut in thin slices;
• 1 medium shallot (45g), diced
• 1/2 of a pepper Boursin cheese (75g)
• 3 eggs
• 250ml (1 cup) of 15% cooking cream
• 1 tbsp of oil
• salt and pepper

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1. Preheat oven to 350°F(180°F) - make sure your pie shell is pre-cooked before adding the wet ingredients (see above);
2. In a medium pan, over medium heat, cook leek (1 medium) and shallot (1 medium) in  oil (1tbsp) until tender for about 15 minutes.  You can control the heat to avoid colouring and add a few tablespoons of water after the initial 5 minutes of cooking.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, and crumbled Boursin cheese.  Taste and season with salt and pepper (many people do not want to taste raw egg, but I always use organic eggs and have never had a problem - otherwise, you can cook a little in a pan and taste to verify seasoning);
4. Distribute the leek and shallot mixture evenly in the bottom of the pre-cooked pastry shell. Pour in the egg mixture. Place in the centre part of the oven;
5. Cook until centre of quiche is firm when gently touched.

This recipe made 5 individual portions that I let cool and then froze -this makes a quick and easy lunch!

Sarah, Kat, Kevin and Stella ♥♥♥♥♥