It’s the New Year, so of course we here at the Scheidt Haus are trying to Eat Healthy and Lose Weight. For me, this is motivated primarily by a desire to not buy new clothes, and secondarily by desire to be with-it and able to walk when I am 90. (Longevity runs in the family.)
My first foot-stamping, pouty-lipped rule of losing weight is No Fake Food. Things that won’t be eaten include I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (oh yes I can!), turkey bacon and fat-free salad dressing.
Indeed, if I had to sum up my weight loss philosophy in a few more (pouting, foot-stamping) points, it would be this:
- Don’t eat things that rely on cream and cheese for their entire flavor profile. (Fettucine alfredo, I’m looking at you. From afar. And you still look delicious.)
- Do not eat crappy baked goods. Only eat truly amazing baked goods. (If it’s not delicious, it’s just not worth the calories.)
- A half-pound of pasta is not a reasonable serving. Not even on Friday.
- Beans mean you won’t need a snack later.
- Vegetables.
I invest my limited powers of will solely in portion control and I use Loseit.com to track calories. I set LoseIt on the “Lose 1/2 pound per week” calorie count and try to simultaneously be diligent about tracking what I eat and not pay too much attention. I’m perfectly comfortable with taking 3 months to go down 5 pounds. I used this method, plus some running and yoga, to lose about 15 pounds last year. It’s definitely not for people who are in imminent health danger from obesity, but if you just need to Get Things Under Control, it’s something you could try.
I sure look diet-y, don't I?
So I’d imagine, now that I’m back in the blog saddle, that our next few recipes here on Burghilicious will be ones that I’m currently eating in Weight Loss Mode.
Such as quiche.
Yes, you heard that right. I eat quiche when on a “diet.”
This quiche, including an all-butter crust, comes in at under 400 calories per serving (1/6 of the pie). Served with large green salad with French vinaigrette, it was an under-500-calorie dinner, oh-so-satifying and not diet-y at all. So I had some wine.
The healthy bits prepare for submersion in eggs and cheese.
Salmon and Leek Quiche
A Burghilcious Original
Use whatever savory tart crust works best for you. I like Clotilde‘s and Dorie‘s. I’ll start from baking the crust in the recipe. As for the salmon, this dish makes a great use of a leftover single filet. We poached the leftover piece from a lovely filet of Alaskan Sockeye that was cut into diet-sized 5-ounce portions. You could also use good-quality canned salmon. Finally, the cheese: if you can’t find quark, a soft German cheese, you could use regular cream cheese. I’ve also made this quiche with 1/2 cup sour cream instead of quark.
One savory tart crust, uncooked
1 tablespoon butter
1 bunch leeks, white and light green parts, sliced thin
5 ounces cooked salmon, flaked
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup quark cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Roll out the tart crust and fit it into a 9-inch tart pan (preferred) or pie plate. In a tart pan, fold the edge to a double layer. run your rolling pin over the top of the pan to make the edge neat. Stab the bottom of the crust several times with a fork.
Lay a piece of foil over the tart shell and press it into the edges. Fill the shell with pie weights, pennies or beans and set the tart pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and weights, then bake the crust for another 3-5 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven.
While the crust is parbaking, melt the butter and cook the leeks over medium heat, stirring often, until they begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add the flaked salmon to the pan and stir until combined. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Put the egg whites in a large bowl and mix with a hand mixer on medium-high until they hold soft peaks. Do not overmix! The egg whites can go from soft peaks to overmixed in a flash. Err on the side of undermixing.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and quark. Once combined, add the dill and mustart and season with salt and pepper. Add 1/4 of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and fold gently to combine. Then add the egg yolk mixture to the whipped egg whites, folding lightly to keep as much air as possible in the mixture.
When the crust comes out of the oven, first distribute the salmon and leek mixture over the bottom of the crust. Next, spread the egg mixture over the top. It may be a bit thick, but should spread to fill the full shell. Bake for 20 minutes or until the eggs have puffed and turned a deep golden-brown. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
Cut into 6 pieces for serving. Serve any leftovers at room temperature or gently reheat in the oven. This crust doesn’t like the microwave.
For ultra-Frenchiness, serve with greens lightly dressed in a mustard vinaigrette.
