Leek and cheddar quiche with coleslaw

A comforting lunchtime treat of shortcrust pastry tart filled with buttery leeks and mature cheddar with a light crunchy coleslaw on the side.

I’m still on a mission to banish boring lunchtimes, and have been working in association with Vouchercodes.co.uk to develop a recipe for under £10 that not only perks up a dismal January mealtime, but one that also delivers leftovers for lunch the next day.

I’ve cut corners (as usual) by using ready-rolled short crust pastry, but as it only costs a quid I’m not going to lose any sleep, or budget over it!

The beauty of a home made quiche is how much better it tastes than a shop bought one. The luxuriously creamy filling will make those bleak rainy days far less irksome, and the crunchy slaw flecked with healthy seeds and a non-mayo dressing definitely lightens the load. In fact the coleslaw recipe makes absolutely loads, so there’s a good chance it’ll keep you smiling all week.

I’ve used leek and cheddar in this quiche, but you can use whatever you like, or even better whatever needs using up in your fridge, like an old packet of ham, the end of a tin of sweetcorn, mushrooms etc etc.

Monday lunch club?

You could easily knock one of these quiches up at the weekend and take it into work the next day to share with your colleagues to brighten up their Monday. If everyone in the office took turns and did this then I reckon a lunch club could be hugely popular.

Do you take food into work to share? When I was office based it was a dangerous amount of cakes and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. An email would ping out saying goodies were on the printer, followed by a swift stampede to grab it before there was nothing left but crumbs. No wonder we had mice in that office…

Anyway if you fancy having a go at recreating this economical but tasty meal that will provide leftover lunches, here’s how it’s done:

Leek and cheddar quiche with coleslaw
Serves 6
Prep time: 40 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour 10 mins
Costing: £7.49*

Ingredients

For the quiche
1 x 375g pack ready rolled shortcrust pastry
25g butter
1 leek, washed and sliced
175g mature cheddar, cut into small cubes
4 eggs
150ml single cream
100ml milk
pinch nutmeg

For the coleslaw
1 small red cabbage
2 carrots
2 apples
100g sunflower and pumpkin seeds
50ml red wine vinegar
100ml olive oil
2 tbsp clear honey

METHOD

1. To make the quiche: pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Grease a 23cm flan tin and line with the ready-made pastry pushing it into the corners and trimming the excess from the top. Cover with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Cook for 20 mins, then take out the paper and beans and cook for a further 5-10 mins until pale and sandy.

2. Meanwhile melt the butter in a pan and soften the sliced leeks for around 5 mins until softened. Scatter the cooked leeks and cubes of cheese evenly around the cooked pastry base.

3. Beat together the eggs, cream, milk and nutmeg in a jug and then pour over the leeks and cheese. Season with a good grind of salt and pepper and then bake in the oven for around 45 mins until the filling is firm and the surface is golden.

4. To make the coleslaw: shred the cabbage, grate the carrot and apples and toss in a large bowl with the remaining ingredients until thoroughly combined.

5. Turn the quiche out of the tin and place on a board, cutting into 6 even slices and serving up with a hearty serving of coleslaw on the side.

*Costings from Sainsbury’s
Shortcrust pastry £1.00
1 leek £0.80
175g mature cheddar £1.25
4 eggs £0.80
150ml single cream £0.60
Red cabbage £0.56
2 carrots £0.15
2 apples £0.78
100g pumpkin and sunflower seeds £1.55

Butter, milk, oil, vinegar, nutmeg and honey all from my store cupboard

Disclosure: I was paid by Vouchercodes.co.uk for the ingredients I bought and time I spent developing, cooking and photographing this recipe.

I’ll be submitting this recipe full of seasonal vegetables into Ren Behan’s Simple and in Season event.

I’m also entering this recipe into Helen and Michelle’s blog event called Extra Veg. That coleslaw is bustling with raw veggies!