Broccoli, Smoked Cheese & Walnut Quiche

Broccoli is paired with smoked cheese and walnut to make a delicious quiche filling.  This healthy quiche pastry is made with coconut flour, psyllium husk powder and a dash of ground flaxseed to make a gluten free, low carb and Paleo pastry case.  

Recently I had a sample of smoked cheese at the supermarket and it’s fast becoming my new food addiction.  It’s how they hook you in, whispering sweet nothings in your ear at the cheese counter, giving you free samples with promises of more.  Suddenly, every shopping visit requires a packet of smoked cheese to keep the cravings at bay.  When I start to rip the packet open in the car on the way home that will be the point that I seek help for this new addiction.

To keep the pastry case a bit firmer I baked it blind as you would regular pastry.   There is no need to line the case with dried beans or baking balls since there is no gluten in the mixture, meaning it will not rise.   Baking it before adding the filling kept the case firm and crispy too.  I tried this method with another coconut flour quiche and it worked just as well.  If you don’t have any psyllium husk powder, just add another tablespoon of ground flaxseed or two.  When you make the dough, you will be able to judge how the texture is and can add a sprinkle or two of more flaxseed if need be.  I am such a fan of psyllium husk powder and the wonders it can deliver with healthier baking. 

I added a couple of tablespoons of ground flaxseed to the dough as I wanted a more wholemeal taste to the pastry.  I never told the Chief Taster when he munched into this as he has a natural aversion to flaxseed and would change his opinion of the dish once he knew it contained flaxseed.  It passed the “I am sneaking flaxseed into your diet” test!    He happily munched into a large slice of the quiche and I watched him break off a piece of the pastry by itself to taste it with no filling.  Watching him do that made me paranoid that his flaxseed filter senses were raising the alarm.  Thankfully, it was just him enjoying a piece of pastry by itself.  Phew!  He’ll never know.  Unless he reads this. 

The walnut adds a surprise crunch to this dish and goes well with the smoked cheese.  Broccoli was used as it’s healthy, low in carbs and colourful.   The dish would have looked a bit brown without it.   Plus, broccoli always goes well with cheese.

I used a square baking tin purely as I wanted more uniform pieces to cut, but you could use a circular pie or quiche tin.   Just ensure that when you roll out the pastry it will cover your tin.   Rolling out a gluten free pastry is much better rolled in between two layers of parchment paper as it can be delicate to handle.   

This quiche is a healthy alternative and full of fibre too.  Great for lunch, dinner or a picnic and delicious hot or cold!  Welcome to my joy of smoked cheese!  If you can’t get this perhaps use a strong Cheddar Cheese instead. 

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