Leek, Mushroom and Spinach Pies

Following on from my post on the dinner for eight the other night, this is another of the appetisers that I served that night. After serving the Bacon wrapped apricots and the chicken version of Nachos, these mini pies came out.

When planning the menu, The Lovely Wife was concerned that we were only serving one dish for the main meal. And the salad of course. She felt the table would be a little bare and that somehow our guests would not have enough food or enough choices. We decided to overcome that with lots of appetisers and these pies were to be the substantial appetisers that would not only taste good, but help in filling up out guests as well!



I was a bit apprehensive about making these mini pies as I felt that they may be a little time consuming. The Lovely Wife had originally suggested my Vol au Vents but I knew that although those would be well received, it would definitely be time consuming in cutting out the rounds, baking them, filling them and then baking them again.



Lining muffin pans with pastry seemed to be a simple solution and it turned out to be far easier, far faster and no less delicious. This is what I did.

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic - chopped
1 medium onion - chopped
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
400g Button Mushrooms - sliced thinly
3 leeks - sliced thinly
200g spinach
3 eggs
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
Black Pepper
Puff Pastry Sheets
Method
Blanche the spinach and then chop roughly. Set aside. Sautee onion, garlic, oregano and basil together until onions are tender. Add in the mushrooms and leek and cook till tender. Add in the spinach and toss well. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Beat the eggs and pour into the mixing bowl together with the sour cream. Mix well. Season with salt and black pepper.

Line a muffin tray with the puff pastry and then spoon the mixture evenly into the pastry, about 2/3 full. Bake in a preheated 200C oven till pastry puffs up nicely and the mixture has set.

In retrospect, the could probably have been a little bit more filling for the pastry but it was very tasty as it was. The puff pastry lent a nice flakiness to the filling and the eggs were not too overpowering or even noticeable.



A very tasty and satisfying appetiser indeed and even something that could be used as an accompaniment for the main meal. My little princess really enjoyed the pies and both my son and her wolfed down a couple over breakfast the next morning.

I have to admit that in terms of presentation and appearance, Vol au Vents would have been the much better choice but in terms of speed and ease of execution, these just cant be beat! Call them mini pies or call them quiche, fill them with whatever you like. This is something I will file for frequent use as the possibilities for these mini pies/quiches are really quite endless!

Quick Vegetable Quiche

The key word in this Quiche is Quick. Quick Quiche. Actually, not really so quick but quicker than normal. You see, a 'real' quiche would have a pastry crust and to bake a pastry crust would take some time. This version omits the crust but it just as delicious. This is one of The Lovely Wife's creations and as I said, one of the best things about this is how versatile it is. You can add some bacon or chicken pieces to make it more hearty or just stick to the basic vegetarian version.






The Lovely Wife likes to make this a little spicy as well by throwing in some chilli powder or sometimes curry powder. This is what she usually does:

Ingredients:
1 large carrot
2 zucchini
1 large onion
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 cup Self Raising Flour
1/4 cup oil
4 eggs - lightly beaten
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp Chilli Powder or Curry Powder or both if you want if more spicy!!

Method
Grate the carrot and zuchini thinly and chop the onion. Combine with all the other ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to ensure everything is nicely incorporated. Pour into a pyrex bowl or similar container and bake in a preheated 180C oven for about 30 mins.



See? I told you it was really easy! The kids really love this dish but I think one of the best parts is how easy it is to whip up but how tasty it turns out.

Sometimes, she also adds some chopped spinach to the quiche for more substance. I think maybe I should try adding some mushrooms to it too!