St.David’s Quiche

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On the whole, quiche has become a travesty of its original self, turning up in wine bars and coffee shops as a stomach-clenching slab of something cold and indifferent.

This recipe using leeks and feta cheese goes someway towards redressing the balance. It’s not Quiche Lorraine, which is what a true quiche should be, but it is at least edible and should be served warm.

I’ve used filo pastry. If you are not used to handling this there are just two points to remember. Buy the stuff from the chiller and not the frozen variety, the latter will break your heart.

Secondly, work quickly and keep the pastry you are not using covered with a damp cloth until you re-wrap it and return it to the refrigerator. Filo pastry dries out quickly and becomes brittle, at which point it’s useless. But don’t be afraid of it – you’ll soon get the knack of using it and it is very versatile.

Assemble:

1 18cm flan dish or pie plate
4 sheets of filo pastry
50g melted butter (or olive oil if you prefer)
2 large or 4 small leeks
125g feta cheese
1 clove of garlic, crushed
165ml cream
3x60g eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 190°C, 375°F

Brush each sheet of filo with melted butter, fold it in half and then stack all four pieces in layers, giving you eight layers in all. Quickly line a lightly greased flan dish with the layers, pressing them well into the sides of the dish and trim with kitchen scissors. Don’t worry if the edges are ragged, they will look terrific when cooked.

Trim, wash and thinly slice the leeks and cook them in the remaining butter with the crushed garlic until tender. Beat the eggs into the cream and crumble in the feta cheese, then add this mix to the leeks, stirring thoroughly.

Season well and pour the mix into the pastry case. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the mixture is just set. Be careful not to overcook. Allow to cool a little before serving with a crisp salad.

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