Butternut and Leek quiche

I always try to choose the menu for lunch on Quiet days carefully. I have to be able to prepare it in advance to allow myself to also enjoy the quiet. It has to be something that can wait patiently on the table for retreatants to eat at will, without wilting, drying out, or, heaven forbid, going bad.

For yesterday's Quiet Day I prepared an old favourite, Butternut and Leek Quiche, the recipe of which I got from my friend Anita, who is one of the best cooks I know. It bursts with flavour and is not for the lactose intolerant among us, containing cheddar and feta cheese as well as cream (I use double thick yoghurt as substitute). Also, the crust is the best and easiest I have ever made! The only real effort goes into cutting the butternut into chunks, but I scrub and wash it well and use it unpeeled. The skins goes soft and just slightly chewy which gives it an interesting texture, while also keeping the cubes from cooking to a pulp.

Perfect fair for the holidays and lovely served warm from the oven, but even more flavourful when allowed to cool and served at room temperature with a simple salad.

Butternut and leek Quiche

For the crust: Mix together
-250ml (1 cup) of cake flour,
-125g butter,
-100g (250ml) of grated cheddar cheese
-15ml of fresh herbs, or 5ml dried. Sage, basil and/or parsley pair well.
The ingredients will combine to make a soft, rather sticky dough. Press it into a quiche or flan dish covering the bottom and sides. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

Filling:
-500g of butternut, cut into small cubes of about 2 x 2 cm,
Preheat oven to 180degC. Place butternut into a roasitng tin and sprinkle with 30ml of olive oil.
Bake for 20 minutes until just done but not mushy.
- 3 leeks or a packet of french leeks. Cut the white parts into thin rings. Stirfry in a bit of butter or olive oil until soft and glazed.
- Crumble or cut 200g of feta cheese into cubes.
- Arrange the butternut, leeks and feta cheese in the crust lined dish.
- Beat together:
                       250ml cream( or plain yoghurt)
                       3 eggs
                       2 egg yolks
                       15ml fresh mixed herbs (as above)
                       salt and black pepper to taste.
- Pour this over the butternut mixture.
- Bake in oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the egg mix is nicely set. It should not show any sign of running.    
  In my oven it takes a full hour to set.

If like me, you cannot bear to discard the pumpkin seeds, even onto your compost heap, roast them with a little salt and pepper and use as snack or garnish.

I served this with a green salad combined with tomato, cucumber, green pepper and thinly sliced baby marrow.

Enjoy!

Matilda