Gluten-Free Pie Crust: Leek And Goat Cheese Quiche Recipe

Pie crust proves to be difficult to make, even when it’s not gluten-free (GF). Working on perfecting the GF pie crust, I went back to basics and used my professional baking textbook from culinary school to find two different types of pie crusts: A flaky one and a mealy, enriched pie crust. I thought to myself, doesn’t everyone want a flaky pie crust as opposed to a mealy one?  That tends to be the first complaint about GF baked goods: They’re mealy.  Regardless, I made up the two texturally different types with my GF adaptation magic and, low and behold, the flaky one was the winner. Well, as flaky as we’ll achieve being gluten-free. The mealy one turned out to be only slightly mealy, but was more like shortbread with egg yolk. (Maybe we will revisit that later.) While looking at produce for the filling, I was struck at how beautiful leeks look this time of year. Leeks have a great, mild flavor that is slightly sweet with a light, almost chive-like character. So a leek and goat cheese quiche sounded like the perfect filling for my new pie crust as they are a great flavor pairing.   Keep it simple when making the quiche. I don’t recommend soft goat for this recipe – too much water and not enough flavor. Go for something that you can grate, with more character to it.  While shopping, ask a cheesemonger for samples of different types of a semi-hard to hard goat cheese. You will be amazed how many different kinds there are. Pick your favorite and don’t worry about the strength of the flavor; the goat cheese and the leeks will be the stars of the quiche no matter what.