Endive and leek quiche, inspired by Julia Child's book

Patricia, author of the gastronomic blog Sabores y Momentos , presents us with a recipe that will please both children and adults: a very healthy quiche with endives and leeks. She was inspired by the recipes of Julia Child, whom, as you well know, we greatly admire. So there is only one thing left to say: bon appétit!

I just turned 3 years as a blogger, it seems like it was yesterday. It has flown by, which means that I have enjoyed it and boy have I enjoyed it and I savour it every day, with every recipe that I share with you. And by sharing through Claudia & Julia's blog, there are many more of you who know me and try my recipes, so I would like to thank you from here too!

It's cold, quite cold here and in many other areas of the north of our country. And one dish that I cook a lot these days is quiche. It has many fillings and is very versatile, but what comforts me the most is that preparing it means having the oven on and my kitchen smelling of vegetables and baked dough.

I have published several recipes for these delicious savoury tarts over the last three years, because we love them at home, so when Julia Child's wonderful book fell into my hands, one of the recipes that I knew she would excel in was the quiche. So when I saw the leek one I thought of the delicious flavour of leeks together with butter, poached and then baked... mmmm... But when I saw the endive one I couldn't resist! So, as it could not be otherwise, I bring you the endive one but with that irresistible touch of leek.

I don't know if many of you know anything about Julia Child 's story, I have to admit that it is fascinating, I recommend you watch the film based on her life "Julie & Julia" (starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams), but what I definitely recommend, if you like cooking, is that you get her book "The Art of French Cooking " because it is one of those culinary gems that you enjoy page by page and, in my case, I am reading it as if it were a novel because of the wonderful way she has of making recipes that may not seem that way simple. I admit that I am hooked and that I enjoy each recipe I try from her, although as in this one, I later give it my touch.

For this recipe I have chosen, of course, one of the beautiful Emile Henry moulds , the Emile Henry wavy ceramic cake mould . Those of you who are lucky enough to have one in your hands know that there is nothing comparable, they are jewels that last a lifetime. I am lucky enough to have several pieces that I have been treasuring over the years and not only is it a luxury to cook with them, but bringing our dishes to the table served in them makes our dishes look much better! Your table will look beautiful with a simple recipe baked in these beautiful jewels!!

So, here's the recipe that I'm sure you'll love! For the quiche, we need a good shortcrust pastry, tender and crunchy, that tastes like butter, which I recommend making at home, although if we're short on time we can always use the shortcrust pastry that they sell in the supermarket. I'll leave the recipe for you for the day you feel like trying it.

Ingredients for shortcrust pastry:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 170g of very cold butter, cut into cubes
• 4 tablespoons of very cold vegetable margarine
• 1/2 cup cold water

Ingredients for the quiche filling:

• 3 endives sliced ​​into thin rings
• 1 leek, sliced ​​into thin rings
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 40g butter
• 4 eggs M
• 200 ml liquid cream
• A pinch of nutmeg
• A pinch of freshly ground pepper
• 100g Gruyere or Emmental cheese

Elaboration

To make shortcrust pastry by hand, you need to work quickly as you don't want the butter to soften. Put the flour, salt, sugar, butter and margarine into a large bowl and mix quickly with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly into small pieces. Add the water and mix quickly by hand (if you see that you need a tablespoon more water, add it). Press the dough firmly (it should be pliable but not sticky) and shape it into a ball.

Place the dough on a floured table and use the heel of your hand to quickly press the dough forward, allowing the fat and flour to fully mix. Bring the dough together again and shape it into a ball. Sprinkle with flour and wrap in waxed paper and place in the freezer for an hour, or if you prefer, leave it in the refrigerator overnight.

It is important to stretch the dough very quickly, so we will put the dough on the table where we are going to work it, previously floured and with a rolling pin we will hit it if it is very cold and stretch it to form a more or less flat circle. Using flour, we will stretch it with the rolling pin in the center, moving the dough back and forth firmly but gently. We will lift the dough and turn it, turning it and passing the rolling pin over it until it forms a circle about 2mm thick. We must use the dough as soon as it has been stretched so that it does not soften.

We roll the dough with a rolling pin and unroll it on top of the mould . We lightly press the dough on the bottom of the mould and cover the walls, leaving about 3-4 mm overhang so that they are more solid. We trim the excess dough by passing the rolling pin over the top of the mould and with our thumbs we press the dough to create an even edge. To prevent the walls from crumbling, we can use a baking paper filled with a handful of dried legumes, so that the weight of these will keep the base well attached to the mould during cooking time. In the oven preheated to 200º, we bake for about 7-10 minutes or until it has browned a little. We take it out, remove the paper with the legumes and put it back in for a couple more minutes. We take it out and without turning off the oven, we prepare our filling.

In a pot, boil the endives and leeks with water, salt and butter over a moderate heat until there is almost no liquid left. Reduce the heat and cook for another 20 minutes until the vegetables are very tender.

In a bowl, beat the eggs with the cream and the other ingredients. Gradually add the leek and endive, when tender, taste for salt and spread over the baked base. Bake for 25-30 minutes in the upper part of the oven at 180º until it has risen and turned golden.

This quiche is as delicious hot as it is cold, so it will be perfect for both winter and summer picnics! I hope you like it!