Wholesome quiche

I don't know about everybody else, but I always found quiches a bit decadent...Buttery pastry, lots of eggs and heavy cream and possibly bacon. Sounds like heaven on a plate for some, but I have sadly come to realise that no matter how much I exercise, such indulgences are more than a passing whim...they dig themselves somewhere on my body...mostly on my hips and stomach. And after three kids, believe me, that is the last spot where I need padding.

But I love quiches and they are the perfect summer picnic fare and now that we have more chickens what better way to use surplus eggs. Ahh, don't get me started on eggs...I could go on all day about the wonder of having freshly laid eggs every day. There is something deeply nourishing about having your own chucks...and I don't mean the protein in the egg.

Anyway, back to the quiche dilemma. Since discovering Liz's easy pastry, I have been getting into making quick pies and tarts. And now I feel I can include a quiche not as a mere indulgence but the pastry now belongs to a food group...along with the eggs and light cream....yes, light.
I guess the opinions are divided about the benefits of "light" products, but sometimes they have its place. When you consider that a traditional quiche contains butter, cream and eggs, along with some bacon and the token greens, you don't need to be a nutritionist to add up the calories. And since we are no athletes training for the Olympics I see no way of getting away with such indulgence....Anyway, that is my humble approach and here is my humble, less decadent quiche recipe.

Wholemeal pastry quiche

Pastry:
2 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt

Filling:
6 free range eggs
200 ml light cream

fat free bacon
olives
Greek feta
spinach
lots of herbs


Blind bake the pastry. Add the filling and bake until eggs are set.

The ingredients are what I had in the fridge that day. Today I made a quiche with sauteed leek, thyme and fetta. The options are endless.

Tarts

Well, life has been busy....And I thought our move to the country will bring a more relaxed and slow lifestyle....but far from it.

But I can hardly contain my happiness at living in this little town. I just about love everything about our life at the moment. Making new connections, meeting amazing and like-minded people, discovering the joys of family bike rides. Watching seasons change is such a dramatic way at our doorstep. And as I write this, I am observing two rainbow Lorikeets feast on the bird feeder outside my window...

And lets not forget the joy of seeing our children greedily absorb all they can from their busy days. Busy in a very relaxed kind of way....with playing, creating, imagining and just rolling in the grass watching the clouds float by. On our 'home-days', the three disappear into their own world and only emerge when their tummies grumble or when a bruised knee needs some mama attention. Well, do I need to say more...

Onto some food lately discovered:

I like tarts and pies but I never took to making them. To use bought pastry does not seem right and to make my own, well, who has got the time?

The other day however I was watching a friend make this dough with wholemeal spelt flour. She used olive oil and water and it just looked so simple. No chopping of cold butter, no chilling...easy.

The very next day another friend arrived at my door asking for a pie crust recipe for a filling she had already prepared. She was looking for something more wholesome that the Pampas frozen sort. So I passed along the above mentioned. So with her filling and the pie crust recipe I had to try it out....So here is my version:

Pumpkin, Split peas and Feta Pie

Filling:

1 small jap pumpkin, cut into cubes

1/2 cup green split peas

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 block of Feta

2 tbs cottage cheese or ricotta

some spinach or rocket

herbs such as basil, rosemary or thyme

Pastry:

2 cups wholemeal flour or spelt

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 water

Blind bake the pie base at 200C for about 15min. As a variation, I sprinkled some sesame seed onto the base before blind baking it. When your Pie is done, start layering the filling as follows:

Start by roasting your pumpkin with some olive oil and sea salt and your chosen herb. Then saute the onion in some oil, add the peas and then water to cover. Boil the peas until they are tender, adding more water as needed.

Mix the flour with the salt and lemon rind. Drizzle over the olive oil and water and mix to form a soft dough, divide in half. On a floured table, roll one half into the size of your pie tin. Press base into tin and poke holes into base with a fork. Chill for 30 min.

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  First spread your peas onto base, dollop the cottage cheese evenly over, then the pumpkin, spinach and feta.
  
  
  

Finally, cover the pie with your remaining pastry.


Don't forget to make a small incision on the top of the pie lit to let out the steam while baking. You may want to glaze the top with some egg or milk and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Enjoy with a crisp salad.



Another variation I made today and is saucy and delicious!!

Lasagne Tart

this is inspired by one of my favorite food bloggers Heidi from 101 Cookbooks. Check out her recipe for this tart. She is amazingly creative and an inspiration when I feel like something very healthy and wholesome for the family.

Instead of ricotta I again chose low-fat cottage cheese and topped the tart with sliced zucchini, tomato sugo, mushrooms,grat ed mozzarella and some leftover Feta, to appeal to the little ones and Mr. P who loves his gooey lasagna...

Delicious on a rainy and dark Saturday