leek, mushroom and sausage quiche

You know me, I love a quiche.  I find it so wonderful that something so simple as eggs, cream and pastry can turn themselves into such a glorious meal.  This leek, mushroom and sausage quiche is certainly no exception. What I particularly love about a quiche is that it works really well as a ‘scraps’ meal too. What I mean by this is that you can fill a quiche with any old vegetables you have lying around in the back of the fridge.  I’ve also recently discovered that 0% Greek yoghurt is a great substitution for cream, which seems like a nice healthy bonus if you ask me!

I’ve used some Little Willies from The Vegetarian Butcher in this quiche.  They have a great flavour that adds a certain ‘breakfast’ vibe to the quiche and quite frankly, quiche for breakfast is not an issue for me at all!

for the cheesy rye flour pastry

• 150g plain flour
• 100g rye flour
• 100g butter
• 50g finely grated Emmental cheese
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh herbs – I used thyme and rosemary
• water to mix

for the filling

• 3 veggie sausages – cut into slices
• 100g chestnut mushrooms – chunky chopped
• one shallot – roughly chopped
• 1 leek – sliced and chopped
• a garlic glove – grated
• butter and olive oil
• fresh rosemary and thyme– finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• 4 eggs – beaten
• 220ml Greek Yoghurt
• a little milk to loosen the mix

make the pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour in a large bowl until you have something resembling breadcrumbs, stir in the grated cheese and fresh herbs then add a tablespoon or two of cold water and bring together into a dough with your hands, you may need to add a little more water to create the dough but you will feel how ‘short’ the pastry is.  Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for at least 30 minutes

in a large pan gently melt a generous amount of butter with a little olive oil and add the mushrooms and sausages and gently sauté until golden brown, remove and set aside. To the same pan, add the onions and leeks and saute them till they begin to soften, then add the garlic and let them all soften gently for a few minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and sausages. Turn off the heat and set aside whilst you roll out your pastry.

now your pastry should be ready, roll it out and line your greased quiche pan. place some baking beans on top of the pastry and blind bake for 15 minutes on 150C

once your pastry is turning golden, take it out of the oven and set aside whilst you beat the eggs into the yoghurt.  Add a dash of milk if needed to slightly slacken the mix.  Pour the sauteed vegetable mix into the pastry case followed by the yoghurty egg mix and bake on 160C for about 25-35 minutes until golden and risen, set aside on a wire rack to cool.  The quiche should easily slide out of the tin. (famous last words…)

Eat and of course, enjoy!