Blue Cheese and Leek Quiche

May 11, 2004

Periodically I get an attack of techno-lust and I crave some new hi-tech gadget. The other day I was proofing an annual report I was preparing for publication when the panel lights on the laser printer started flashing. I got out the manual. Those little lights weren't heralding Christmas, they were telling me that the printer which has seen me through some 50,000 pages for something like 10 years had gone into a state of terminal malfunction. Maybe it was the shock of the new toner cartridge that did it. It was a "return to the agent for a new board‚" malfunction.

Last time I encountered a similar problem with an identical printer, it was going to cost $900 to fix. This time I didn't even inquire. It went to the tip.

I was wandering idly through a computer store while The Spouse played with the laptops when I spied a combination fax, scanner, copier, printer at a fraction of the size and price of my existing printer and giant professional scanner. It always amazes me the advances in technology since my last purchase. More bang for fewer bucks. The Spouse egged me on and I liberated some money from the bank account and was soon crawling round the mazes of wires behind the computer desk getting everything hooked up.

Last weekend we went out shopping for our respective mothers. Having bought the Mother's Day presents in seemingly record time, The Spouse offhandedly suggested a visit to another computer store. Seems he was acting as agent on behalf of the sons and after 15 minutes hard talking, he had managed to convince me I needed a large flat screen for my computer. Techno-lust struck again.

By the time I had everything set up and running smoothly, I had run out of time as I had to cook the family Mother's Day lunch. But of course now I am wondering how I ever managed on that little screen for so long.

Today's recipe is the dish I made for that lunch. I didn't want anything too heavy, given the capricious appetites of the elderly biddies and decided it was a while since I had made a quiche. Fresh from his triumph in the computer store, The Spouse accompanied me to the supermarket for the ingredients and suggested I try making a blue cheese quiche. Seems he'd had a very tasty blue cheese tartlet as a starter when we went out for a dinner recently.

It was a very good idea and the mouldy cheese gave the tart a nice sharp, tasty edge.

The blue cheese he selected was a smooth creamy one with a moderate bite to it. I had a little pastry left over so the next day I made a small quiche using a goat's milk feta. This gave a milder more mellow flavour and might be something you would want to try if you're not a blue cheese fan.

Blue Cheese Quiche

250g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
125g butter, diced
iced water

Place the dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to aerate. Add the butter and process until well combined then gradually add some iced water, a little at a time, until the mix starts to clump together. It will take about 6 tablespoons. Don't add too much water. You can test the mix by pinching some between your fingers. If it sticks together, it's ready. Form into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then roll out and use to line a quiche pan. Prick the bottom. Refrigerate again for 30 minutes then bake blind at 210C for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the filling:

1 leek, rinsed and cut into slices
100g lean bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
6 eggs
1 200g pot of light sour cream
125g blue cheese, chopped into small pieces
a few grinds of white pepper
two tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Saute the bacon and leek slices in the butter until the leek is tender. Place the remaining ingredients in a food processor and process until combined and smooth.

Spoon the bacon and leek mixture into the partially baked pastry shell. Pour over the egg mix and bake at 210C for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture is set.

Serve warm with a salad.