Stilton, Leek and Walnut Quiche

I was brought up in Stilton Cheese and pork pie country, there never seemed to be a day when either Stilton Cheese or pork pies didn't get a mention.  The 'grown ups' ate their Stilton Cheese with  Lincolnshire celery, and pork pies were eaten with home made piccalilli.  None of these appealed to me, and I would sooner have eaten mud, than eat these strange foods. It wasn't until I became a 'grown up' I began eating and appreciating Stilton Cheese.  I'm never going to be a pork pie fan, but I love the hot water pastry they are made from.  I ask hubby to let me eat the pastry from his pork pie but for some reason he always tells me it is an unreasonable request.......

Stilton Cheese, leeks and walnuts are a match made in heaven.  This quiche was really good other than one or two niggles.  There isn't much of a custard layer and the amount of walnuts used in the original recipe needed to be halved, perhaps it should be called Walnut, Leek and Stilton Quiche.

British Cheese Week is 22-30 September 2012.

Adapted recipe taken from British Baking in 2012 - BakingMad.com

You will need:  23cm loose bottom tart tin lightly greased.

Pastry:  250g plain flour, 60g cubed chilled butter, 60g lard cubed, 3 tbsp cold water.

Filling:  40g butter, 2 leeks washed and chopped, 1 tbsp chopped Thyme leaves, 3 large eggs lightly beaten, 100ml Creme Fraiche, 100ml milk, ¼ tsp grated nutmeg, 3 tbsp finely grated Parmesan, 30g lightly toasted and finely chopped walnuts, 125g crumbled Stilton, ground black pepper.


1.  Put flour, butter and lard into a bowl, rub in until it looks like breadcrumbs add 3 tablespoons cold water, bind to make a dough.
2.  Shape into a round disc, wrap in clingwrap and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3.  Remove pastry from fridge.
4.  Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place a large baking tray in the oven to preheat.
5.  Roll the pastry and line the tart tin.  Prick the base and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Line the pastry case with crumpled baking parchment, fill with baking beans.  Place the tin on the preheated baking tray and put in the oven for 15 minutes.  Remove the parchment paper and baking beans.
6.  Brush the base of the tart with some of the beaten egg from the filling and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.
7.  Set the oven temperature to 180°C .
8.  Take a large frying pan and melt the butter.  Add the leeks and cook until softened.  Stir in the thyme, grind over black pepper, cool.
9.  Add the creme fraiche to the beaten eggs and milk.  Add the Parmesan and nutmeg, season with black pepper.
10. Spread the leeks over the base of the cooked tart, sprinkle over half of the walnuts.  Scatter over the  crumbled Stilton cheese.  Pour the egg mixture over.  Sprinkle over the remaining walnuts.
11. Bake 35-40 minutes until the filling is set and golden brown.

Smoked Salmon, Dill and Goats Cheese Quiche

Smoked Salmon, Dill and Goats Cheese Quiche

This recipe comes from Simply Recipes.  Their site started way back in 2003 and was  highlighted as one of the 50 Best Food Blogs (February, 2009) Times Online. 

I was really pleased when way back in 2008 they chose my Valentine's Day Pavlova as part of a bloggers recipe roundup to celebrate all things 'romantic'. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/valentines_day_recipes/

This is a fabulous quiche, and I am a huge quiche fan.  You could say it's a posh quiche, but because smoked salmon always seems to be on offer these days, you don't need a special event to buy a pack.  I think the goats cheese took on a life all of its own - I am sure I scattered it over the filling better than that!

It is good enough for an indoor picnic, well lets face it, with the monsoon season in full swing, we are hardly likely to be planning the next outdoor picnic.

The quiche cuts well.

I always use Delia's method to line and bake a quiche, it produces a crisp light pastry crust and I have never found anything else to beat it.  Also, the pastry doesn't become the main event but allows the filling to be the star.

Roasted Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Quiche

We have had a lovely outing to Liverpool to see a beautiful new born baby girl and her proud mummy and daddy.

I enjoy wandering around Liverpool and didn't need any persuading to revisit Delifonseca in Stanley Street for lunch.  There is a wonderful deli downstairs and upstairs they serve freshly made food. It is close to The Cavern and if you are nearby and need lunch/dinner which is made to a high standard, you can't go wrong, they also have a restaurant at Dockside, Liverpool. When I go out for lunch, I mostly choose the vegetarian option, and Delifonseca served me a fabulous quiche.  I hadn't made a quiche for some time and found this delicious recipe on the BBC GoodFood website.

   To go along side the quiche I made this crunchy rice salad.

LEEK AND GRUYERE QUICHE

The summer has reached the West Midlands at last! We can now have barbecues without having to run for cover and cook under the parasol, we can even eat quiche!

My tomato plants are at last happy and producing good red cherry tomatoes. Even some of the plants that have been on a back burner have burst into life and are trying their very best to put on a show for me.

If you are in the mood for quiche and have some leeks lurking in the fridge then this is a great recipe to use them up. A delicious quiche but try not to cook it to within an inch of its life because it will carry on cooking whilst cooling.

Oh dear look what happened to my pastry! This was after resting the pastry before rolling out, and then after popping the lined tin to rest in the fridge for half an hour or so. It didn't matter though and if I had removed the quiche from the tin you would never have known! Taking a belt and braces approach, by either pressing the uncooked pastry just above the rim of the tin or letting the pastry overhang the tin and when it's cooked just trim the pastry neatly from around the edges of the tin. I've never managed to trim the cooked pastry from around the tin neatly to this day!


One of my favourite Gary Rhodes recipes, although I think it is fair to say, I haven't come across many of his recipes on food blogs.

GARY RHODES - TIME TO EAT

ISBN 9780718153144

Page 180 - Serves 4 people

You will need:

a large piece of butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 sliced large onion, 1 large leek finely shredded and washed, 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 150ml double cream or milk, 100g Gruyere cheese grated, salt, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 175g fresh or frozen ready-made shortcrust pastry (although I made my own).

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 and butter a loose 20cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil together in a large frying pan. Once sizzling, fry the sliced onion for 5 to 6 minutes before adding the leek. Continue to fry for a further minute or two, then spread them on to a tray to cool.
3. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them together with the extra egg yolk, and then add the cream or milk. Stir in the grated cheese and onion and leek and season with the salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
4. Roll our the pastry on a lightly floured surface and line the tart tin. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans or dried rice and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
5. Bake blind for 15 to 20 minutes, and then allow to cool. Remove the greaseproof paper and baking beans and cut away the excess pastry. Lower the oven temperature to 160°C/325°F/Gas 3.
6. Pour the filling mixture into the pastry case and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until just set. Remove the quiche from the oven and leave to rest for 20 minutes before serving just warm.