Quiche with Spinach and Leek

Traditionally, the French use ham but you don't need it! Leave the pigs alone, kids! Let them roam free!

Serves: 4
Cost per person: 3.25 zl (64 UK pence, 0.78 Euros, 35 Thai Bhat)

You'll need:

- 400g flour
- 100g butter
- salt
- pepper
- a pinch of nutmeg
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- 4 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of cream
- 2-3 tablespoons of grated cheese such as cheddar
- a few small pieces of gorgonzola
- 1 leek
- a handful of chopped spring onion
- a nice bunch of FRESH spinach

Let's get cracking!

1. Flour in a bowl with a pinch of salt. Butter cubed and in.

2. Work those fingers, baby! Get that butter rubbed into the flour till it's nice and fine.

3. Add water very slowly, mixing all the time, till you end up with a firm dough. Has to be firm. Cover and leave to rest in the fridge for around 30 minutes while you prep everything else.

4. Wash the spinach and chop up fine. Finely chop the leek and spring onion too.

5. Butter in a pan. 

6. Leeks in

7. When the leeks are sweating down nicely, add the spring onion.

8. Spinach in. Grate in a pinch of fresh nutmeg and a good grind of black pepper. Add a pinch of salt.

9. When it looks like this, you're done.

10. Meanwhile.... grease an oven dish with some butter. 

11. Roll out the pastry till it's about the thickness of a pound coin. 

12. Place the pastry into the oven dish and trim off any excess round the sides. Prick the base with a fork.

13. The oven needs to be at 200 C. Now the pastry needs to be "blind baked". Cover the pasty with foil. 

14. Add baking beads to the bottom. Put in the oven for around 10 minutes.

15. Remove from the oven. Take off the foil. Put back in the oven for another 5 minutes. When you take it out it should look like this:

16. Beat 4 eggs in a bowl. Add cream and the leek/spinach mix. Season with a pinch of cayenne pepper, a good grind of black pepper and a pinch of salt.

17. Pour this mixture onto the pasty. Press in some globs of gorgonzola.

18. Sprinkle the grated cheddar on top.

19. Turn the oven down to 180 C and bake the quiche for around 15-20 minutes until the top is golden and the mixture has set. 

20. Enjoy!

Cost:

- Spinach: 2.20 zl
- Eggs: 2.80 zl
- Cream: 0.50 zl
- Leek: 2 zl
- Cheese: 2 zl
- Flour: 1 zl
- Butter: 2 zl
- The rest: 0.50 zl

Total: 13 zl
Serves: 4
Per person: 3.25 zl

Got some pastry left over... Now, what shall I do? Hmmm.... Check out the beetroot and potato samosa recipe coming up next!