Jamie’s Food Revolution Day: Blue Cheese & Pear Quiche

If I have a magic wand, I would like every plate of food put in front of me to be instantly transformed into a lighter, healthier, sustaining and guilt-free fare without compromising flavor. Since I have no magic power, I need to work harder; that involves adding, subtracting and substituting. Who would think adapting recipes is like doing math!

Today is Food Revolution day, and a special occasion for us as participants at CooktheBookFridays, to show our support for Jamie Oliver’s cause, which is “feed the future” for 2016. (Jamie is advocating delicious nutritionally balanced recipes that can give anyone the confidence to cook healthy meals for themselves and their families, now and in the future.) We’re all cooking what’s considered a “must know” starter French recipe: A quiche. It is a versatile vehicle that almost anything can go in. We made the ham, blue cheese and pear quiche from David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen. Thanks Mardi for coordinating and energizing our efforts. The recipe can be found here.

Please check the blogroll to see how each of us tackled the task. Most were singing the praises of the versatility of the quiche. We saw a file box of treasured quiche recipes going back many decades. We heard inspiring stories from bloggers reminiscing their experiences leading up to their own personal food revolution.

Here is how I approached the recipe. I added lovage. Parsley is called for in the recipe. My herb patch is overflowing with this beautiful bright green lovage that looks like giant parsley, but tastes like angelica, fennel and celery. Lovage is a perennial herb and have been growing rapidly in my garden since early spring. Meanwhile, parsley, which I planted next to lovage a few weeks ago, is still at its early phase of growth. So I ended up using both lovage and parsley, seasonal in our area and fresh from the garden, in the quiche filling.

I subtracted ham. My intention was to make a vegetarian quiche. There is plenty of flavor with layers of sweetness, from the pear, and saltiness, from the blue cheese. I don’t think I am missing the ham. I could have gone further and left out the cream cheese in order to lighten the filling. Next time, if I make the quiche again.

I substituted ground nutmeg for freshly grated nutmeg. That’s what I have in the pantry. Other than that, I followed the recipe as printed. No snags. Everything worked as expected. Forty-five minutes in a 350°F (convection) oven, the quiche was done. I do wonder though, whether caramelized onions would be a good substitute for shallots, in both flavor and convenience. The recipe uses six shallots. It took me a while to peel and slice all the shallots. The job would be easier if one big onion is used.

Lovage and parsley are the herbs used

This crust is easy to work with. The crust calls for 140g all-purpose flour, 55g (or 28% of total flour weight) cornmeal, one stick of butter and one large egg for a 9-10 inch pie. I’ve found it to be sturdier than most pie crusts. I guess, cornmeal is responsible for its firmer structure. The only negative is the coarseness of the cornmeal. There were more than a few bites in the crust that were unpleasant and jarring to the chewing and grinding motion in the mouth. Maybe the cornmeal I used, Bob’s Red Mill stone ground 100% whole grain medium grind, is too coarsely ground for this purpose. Or the cornmeal should have been sieved. Minor details that could have made a big improvement in the enjoyment of this quiche.

I firmly support Jamie’s Food Revolution and the current theme, “feed the future,” and strive to renew and expand my commitment for healthful eating and cooking — one recipe at a time.