Sweet Potato Crust Quiche

A brilliant way to squeeze more fibre, colour and nutrition in to your meal!

I have been making this quiche for years and I actually now prefer it to regular pastry-base quiches. It might seem like a lot of work, but it is actually very easy and absolutely delicious!

Benefits of Sweet Potato

Swapping a regular pastry base for sweet potato add these great benefits to your meal:

1. Fuller for Longer - Sweet potatoes have a low glycaemic load. This means that the carbohydrates release slowly and don't spike your blood sugar. This keeps you fuller for longer and reduces energy dips.

2. Gut Health - The fibre in root vegetables like sweet potato provide excellent food for beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract. This helps them to make compounds that promote healthy immunity, keep you regular and fight inflammation.

3. Antioxidants - The vibrant orange colour of sweet potatoes are a clue that they are full of antioxidants. Beta carotene is the main antioxidant, which converts to Vitamin A (see below). A diet with a variety of bright colours is important to keeping our bodies and brains health.

4. Rich source of Vitamin A - this vitamin is essential for immune, skin and eye health. A serving of sweet potato gives you most of the beta carotene you need daily. Just remember that you need fat or oil to absorb vitamin A, which the rest of the quiche ingredients provide.

5. Gluten-free. Using sweet potatoes means that this quiche is naturally gluten-free.

The Recipe

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes 

• 1kg sweet potato, about 2 large, peeled, grated on a large-holed box grater

• 1 cup oat flour (grind oats in a blender or crush oatcakes)

• 10 large eggs, divided

• Salt and pepper

• 1 bag baby spinach

• 1 leek, sliced

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• ½ cup milk or water

Optional Fillings

• 200g goat/feta cheese

• 100g smoked salmon

• 2 tbs chopped sun-dried tomatoes

• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

• 12 olives, pitted

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease the sides and bottom of a quiche tin or pie dish well with butter.

2. In large bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper.

3. Whisk in the oat flour, then stir in the grated sweet potatoes and mix.

4. Press into mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared tin. Be sure that the bottom is well covered as the potato shrinks when cooked.

5. Place on a baking tray and bake in oven for 15-20 minutes. Open the oven door 2-3 times during cooking to allow steam to escape - this is important to avoid a soggy crust.

6. While the bases are cooking, gently sauté the leeks in a tablespoon of butter and, once soft, add the spinach and garlic and cook gently until the spinach is just wilted. Set aside.

7. Remove the quiche base from oven and allow to cool. Turn oven down to 180°C.

8. In a large bowl, whisk the remaining eggs with milk, and season well.

9. Arrange the leeks/spinach mixture in the base, dot all over with the remaining fillings and add the egg mixture without overfilling the crust. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and just set.