Lighten up quiche with olive oil crust

This recipe dishes up all the crave-able quiche goodness you could want in a much more healthful way, thanks to a few strategic tweaks to the usual formula.

Its custardy egg filling, with a rich, round flavor and seasonal ingredients, is cradled by a tender, melt-in-your mouth pastry crust, just as you would hope for. But instead of the typical and heavy cream-and-cheese combination, the filling uses low-fat milk, and it is made creamy and extra-luscious by a few ounces of soft goat cheese.

Additional healthful layers of flavor and spring vibrancy come from sauteed leeks, spinach and parsley. (You could substitute any type of onion, green leafy vegetable or tender herb.)

The big game changer here, though, is the crust, which is made with olive oil — not butter, lard, or shortening — and mostly whole grain flour. Here, the savoriness of the olive oil crust amplifies that of the egg custard in this supremely satisfying quiche, which, happily, is good in every possible meaning of the word.

Besides being better for you, it is also much easier to make than a regular pastry crust because there is no rolling. To make it, simply whisk the oil with a bit of milk, then combine the liquid with the dry ingredients until you get something resembling moistened crumbs. Then, press the crumbs into a pie dish — just as you would a graham cracker crust — and blindbake.

Once the crust has a chance to cool a bit, it’s ready to be filled and baked just like any other pastry, so feel free to use this crust recipe for fruit pies as well (perhaps adding a teaspoon of sugar).