Slimmed-Down Leek & Goat Cheese Quiche

Here’s the slimmed down version of quiche, as promised.
To slim down quiche, I use unbuttered filo- (phyllo-) pastry for the crust, I also use half water and no-fat milk/unsweetened milk substitute to the egg mix. I don’t particularly miss the buttery short-crust pastry, because the filling carries the quiche off.

Remember, you can put any fillings in the quiche you like. Some suggestions are Lorraine, ham and mushroom, red peppers and courgettes (zucchini), spinach and pine nut, roasted red pepper and goat cheese.

For the recipe below, 1/6th of the quiche is 231 calories. But we eat half the quiche each, with a huge salad for dinner.

SLIMMED-DOWN LEEK & GOAT CHEESE QUICHE
Makes 1 x 23 cm (9-inch) quiche, 6-8 slices

Ingredients
½ tsp oil to sauté the leeks
230 g (½ lb) leek (a largish leek) – white and green parts, topped, tailed, finely sliced on a diagonal bias, rinsed and drained well
100 g (3 ½ oz) filo pastry
140 g (5 oz) goat cheese, roughly broken into pieces
4 large chicken eggs OR 3 duck eggs
175 ml (¾ c) milk/milk substitute
175 ml (¾ c) water
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. In a medium frying pan, sauté the leeks in the oil until done, then set aside to cool. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.

2. Using a lightly oiled kitchen (paper) towel, grease the quiche dish.

3. Line the filo pastry in the quiche dish so that you cover all areas leaving an overhang and overlapping where necessary.

4. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo-overhang off and use these excess pieces to further line the quiche dish. This should leave you with a neat filo pastry case (pie crust).

5. In a jug, beat together the eggs, water and milk. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Distribute the leeks and goat cheese evenly over the pastry case (pie crust), then slowly pour over the egg custard mix.

7. Pop the dish into the middle of the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, before rotating the dish by 180 degrees. Continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the egg custard is puffy, golden and the custard is set (doesn’t wobble).

8. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!