I have written many quiche recipes and usually they are mushroom with a little ham, but smoked salmon in a quiche gives a lot of flavor and works beautifully with the basil.

　　

Ingredients

Sesame seed crust:

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

　　1 cup wholemeal spelt flour, plus extra for dusting

　　1/3 cup unsalted butter

　　1 egg

　　Olive oil or butter, for greasing

　　

Filling:

1 tablespoons olive oil or butter

　　1 large onion, finely sliced

　　1/2 cup crème fraîche (use low-fat if you fancy it)

　　1/2 cup plain yogurt (use low-fat if you fancy it)

　　5 free-range eggs

　　1/4 cup kale, woody stems removed and leaves finely sliced

　　1/2 cup smoked salmon slices (preferably wild and MSC-certified), torn into bite-sized pieces

　　

To serve:

Leaves from 1/2 bunch of fresh basil

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

　　

Step 2

Toast the sesame seeds in a small dry frying pan overmedium heat until fragrant and golden. Tip ontoa plate and leave to cool.

　　

Step 3

Meanwhile, grease an 8-inch straight-sided, loose-bottomedflan or cake tin (1-inch deep) and set iton a baking tray.

　　

Step 4

Once the sesame seeds are cool, tip them andthe remaining pastry ingredients, along with3 tablespoons of water, into a food processor.Whiz together until they form damp crumbs.

　　

Step 5

Alternatively, to make by hand, put the flour andbutter into a large bowl. Pick up bits of the mixturewith the tips of your fingers and rub your thumbinto your fingers to blend the ingredients together,allowing it to fall back into the bowl. Keep doing thisuntil the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stirthe sesame seeds through. Lightly beat the egg ina small bowl and stir into the crumbs really wellwith a small knife until it starts to form lumps.

　　

Step 6

Add 3 tablespoons of water to bring it together.

　　

Step 7

Dust a clean work surface with a little flour and tip thedough out onto it. Bring it together into a smooth ballthen roll it out to the thickness of that of anickel (about 2mm) to give a roughly 8 2/3-inch circle(slightly larger than the diameter of the tin).

　　

Step 8

Carefully lower the pastry into the prepared tin,easing it against the bottom and edges. Use a small,sharp knife to trim the excess pastry off the top rim,using bits of the excess to seal up holes or cracksif necessary. Scrunch up a circular piece of bakingparchment a little larger than the tin, then unscrunchand sit it in the pastry crust. Tip in ceramic bakingbeans or dried beans and bake for 20 minutes.

　　

Step 9

Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil or butterin a medium pan over a low–medium heat. Add theonion and cook down for about 10 minutes or untilsoft, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, beat the crèmefraîche, yogurt, and eggs together in a large bowl untilcombined. Stir in the kale, season, and set aside.

　　

Step 10

After the pastry has been cooking for 20 minutes,remove the paper and beans and return the pastrycrust to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until thepastry is cooked, the base is sandy to the touch, andit looks lightly golden brown.

　　

Step 11

Once softened, remove the onion from the heat andleave to cool. Once cool, stir into the kale mix.

　　

Step 12

Once the pastry crust is cooked, remove from theoven and pour in the kale mixture. Arrange thesmoked salmon on top. Bake for 35 minutes, or untilthe salmon is catching colour and the quiche cookedthrough to the centre. Remove and allow to cool alittle. Carefully remove from the tin, cut into quartersand top with freshly torn basil.

　　Cooks' Note

　　The spelt pastry is so easy to make, but if you can find a good wholemeal ready-made version in the shops, then do use that instead. Hot smoked trout can replace the smoked salmon for some variation and broccoli could easily replace the kale. Smoked salmon is not an everyday treat, but when my wallet allows, I do try to buy the MSC-certified wild salmon over farmed as it is said to be better for you. Having said that, it is not as cheap and it is about making small changes here and there where it is possible, so regular smoked salmon will also be okay.

　　From Eating Well Made Easy © 2016 by Lorraine Pascale. Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.Reprinted with permission from HarperCollins.