Man quiche

Imagine my surprise when after bagging my old-fashioned husband he revealed a penchant for quiche. My dad had always held firm that real men don’t eat quiche. It turns out that very rarely dads can be wrong. This quiche is filling and meaty through the mushrooms but you can add a handful of fried lardons or chopped bacon. I promise the pastry recipe is easy but please don’t feel guilty about buying it if you don’t have the time.

FOR THE PASTRY (OR USE 500 G PACK OF SHORTCRUST PASTRY):

INGREDIENTS

140g butter, cold and cut into 1 cm cubes

280g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

50g parmesan or other hard cheese, finely grated

100ml water, very cold

FOR THE FILLING:

140g leeks, chopped into rings

2 tablespoons olive oil

30g butter

pinch salt

500g mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

140g gruyere or other hard cheese, grated

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

300ml double cream

ground black pepper

METHOD

If you are making your own pastry, rub the butter into the flour until you have a fine-breadcrumb consistency. Stir in the cheese and add the water, stirring with a blunt knife until it starts to come together. Use your hands to scoop it into a ball, without kneading. Wrap it in cling film and rest in the fridge.

Prepare the filling by very gently frying the leeks in the oil, butter and salt over a low heat. When just softened but not coloured, transfer to a dish then fry the mushrooms and thyme in the same pan in batches, frying for about 8 minutes, until any liquid released fries off. Mix the mushrooms, thyme, cheese, eggs, cream and pepper together, but keep the leeks separate. This is so the leeks don’t sit on top and catch in the oven.

Roll the chilled pastry out on a lightly floured work surface using a rolling pin, into a circle that is 5 cm larger in diameter than the tart tin (I use a 23 cm loose-bottomed tart tin) and as thick as a pound coin. Transfer the pastry to the tin by gently placing both hands underneath it, spread wide with palms facing upwards. Push the pastry into the sides of the tin and run your rolling pin across the top to trim off the excess. Chill the pastry-lined tin for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake the trimmings to nibble on while you wait. Waste not, want not!

Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans, uncooked rice or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the beans and paper, then bake for another 10 minutes. Remove the pastry case from the oven only when it looks entirely cooked through, then fill first with a layer of leeks, followed by the mushroom filling. Bake for 20–25 minutes until browned and a knife inserted in the centre shows no wet filling. I serve this with something honest and simple, like a green salad dressed with a little olive oil.

IDEAS FOR FRESH THYME

Chop, mix with lemon zest and use as a marinade-rub for pork. Or just freeze it on the stem and use the leaves direct from the freezer – they pull off really easily and are perfect for chucking into soups and over roasted vegetables.

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