Guest Author Elizabeth J. Duncan's Welsh Leek Quiche #Giveaway #Recipe @Elizabethduncan

This is turning into Wales week here in the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen! Today we welcome back our friend Elizabeth J. Duncan, who’s been in Wales since last fall and shows no signs of coming home.  Make sure you read to the end to see Elizabeth's giveaway.

Here's Elizabeth with a treat for you!  

You probably think of sandwiches when you think of picnics, and quiche when you think of standby fare for lunch or a light supper, but easy-to-make quiche is actually the perfect picnic food. Today we’re making one using that most traditional of Welsh ingredients, the leek, and then we’re taking it on a picnic. Yes, the weather and views in this beautiful country are such that we ramble and picnic in January!

The leek is a national emblem of Wales. According to legend, Saint David, patron saint of Wales, ordered his Welsh soldiers to identify themselves by wearing the vegetable on their helmets in an ancient battle against the Saxons that took place in a leek field. It is still worn on St David's Day each March 1.

Leek Quiche 

You just need a few basic ingredients!

Ingredients

4 oz Cheddar or Gruyere cheese, grated

1 leek, washed and sliced

3 eggs

6 oz milk or cream or a combination of both

salt, pepper

one pie crust, homemade or store bought, cooked

Optional: : Add whatever happens to be in the fridge: mushrooms, bacon … I had some Scottish smoked salmon on hand and added that.

Method

Wash the leek, slice crossways, and sauté gently until soft and fragrant. Do not brown. 

Gently saute the leeks

Sprinkle cheese over the bottom of the pie crust (or pastry case as its called in Wales), add the leek which has been allowed to cool slightly. Beat eggs lightly with milk or cream, and salt and pepper, and pour mixture over cheese and leeks. 

Ready for the oven!

Bake at 350 until the centre is set, about 25 minutes.

Ready to slice!

Allow to cool, cut into slices and pack for your picnic. Or enjoy on March 1 in celebration of St. David’s Day.  

Here's Elizabeth showing us part of her packed 'winter' picnic on a clear day at the base of Mt. Snowdon.  What a spectacular view. No wonder she's spending so much time in Wales. Wow!

More from Elizabeth:

I’m delighted to give away an ARC of Murder on the Hour, the seventh in the award-winning Penny Brannigan mystery series, to be published in April 2016, by Minotaur. Just leave a comment below and we’ll pick a winner at random. Entrants welcome from Canada, USA and the UK.

Here's some more about Elizabeth. A former journalist and college professor, Elizabeth J. Duncan is the author of two mystery series –the well-established, Penny Brannigan Mysteries set in North Wales, and the recently launched Shakespeare in the Catskills. Elizabeth has been nominated for, and won, several awards, including the 2013 Bloody Words Light Mystery Award (aka the Bony Blithe), a Canadian national juried award given annually for a light mystery.  Elizabeth divides her time between Canada and Wales and is a faculty member of the Humber School for Writers.

To connect with Elizabeth, visit her web page ViSIT ELIZABETH'S WEBSITE, follow her on Twitter @Elizabethduncan or  LIKE ELIZABETH ON FACEBOOK