Anyone know how to make low(er) cal pastry

I love quiche and similar dishes but simply cannot afford the calories in regular pastry.  Does anyone know of any tips or tricks to make pastry low cal?  I dont mind making it from scratch if its healthier than the store-bought stuff!


thanks :)

bump ;op

Cuz I wanna know too!

Pastry has so few ingredients  - flour, fat, pinch of salt and water - that the only way to make it lower-calorie is to eat it in smaller amounts.  Low-fat fats results in leaden pastry and there's no such thing as low-cal flour.  Arguably, home-made is healthier than shop-bought because you wouldn't be adding any extras like preservatives, colourings or similar.  Arguably, pastry made with wholemeal flour would be a little more nutritious. 

If you like quiche you could swap the pastry base for a thinly rolled out bread-dough base but then it would be some kind of 'egg pizza' and not a quiche.  If you like apple pie you could replace the pastry topping with an oatmeal crumble... but then it would be an apple crumble!

My suggestion..... give pastry 'rare treat' status and make sure it's a particularly delicious one!!

I have a few options, the first isn't for quite the same thing, but can be a pretty good substitute and is great for a party or whatever.

1) I have quite succesffully put things like spinach ricotta filling, or egg, bacon whatever like would be in a quiche into spring roll pastry, which I then fold up and bake in the oven (either sprayed with a little oil, or egg/milk on top).

With egg fillings it can't be super runny, so lots of spinach etc is required to be included in the "quiche" mix for this technique to work. 

2) Or else there is something called impossible pie my mum used to make, where you just add the flour to the egg mix, and while it cooks it falls to the bottom, so there is no pastry bottom at all. you can add whatever you want in the  mix. I don't have the recipe with me here at work, but if you are interested I can find it at home. 

3) I guess using filo pastry, but with out the oil layers would be another alternative.

thanks gijane and jane3001, you have given me some ideas to think about.

jane3001: the impossible pie recipe you mention, is that a sweet pie or a savoury one?  I remember making a similar sounding sweet pie years ago, i think it had eggs and coconut in it.  But if you have a similar savoury recipe i would love to hear it.

try making it with whole wheat flour or an organic flour that hasn't been as processed, that should lower the calories and make it a lot healthier. im not sure about what else goes in quiche but theyre kind of creamy so if theres dairy involved use the lower fat version

I have a savory recipe, I'll check for it at home, my dad has experimented with getting the volume of flour to a minimum and increasing the light milk to egg ratio, and upping the vege content (grated zuchinni apparently works quite well) so as to really reduce calories, so I will post the recipe i have at home tonight (which I think you could also easily increase the vege amount without too many problems), and once I've talked to him, also give his version.

There are many impossible pies, and they all involve Bisquick :( bleh

But pastry-wise, if I am making a savory pastry, I experimented with bulgur and it turned out well - more like a crunchy crust.

In terms of sweets - very few people know this, but the original pie pastry (pate brisee - sorry can't make accents here) has quite a few different recipes, some involving a little butter and an egg, some involving no butter and all oil, some involving half oil and half butter, some involving no butter and all egg-yolks.  I can try and remember to look it up in my fave french cook-book.

 

jane: i would absolutely LOVE those recipes.  I actually have a quiche type recipe with grated zucchini but it also has a lot of oil in it, so an alternative recipe would be fantastic!!! <3

and jezebelina what did you do with the bulgur to make a crust?  I assume you cooked it first?  I actually have bulgur in the cupboard so would love to know what you did.  Any other recipes would also be fantastic.

You guys rock! :-D

If you want a quiche, why not try making a frittata? It's similar but there's no crust.

lucky for me i'm not a crust kind of girl, especially in my sweet treats. so i just leave the crust on the plate. then either the hubby or the dog will clean it up. 

I don't know if this would appeal to you but here are some vegan recipes...

Quiche with a brown rice crust:(http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/03/asparagu s-and-mushroom-quiche-with.html)

and mini crustless quiche (http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/12/mini-cru stless-tofu-quiches.html).

well i happen to have a recipe!! It is for a veggie quiche, and ive made it the pastry is nice n flaky, but there isnt much, it is a pmaller crust, but it makes 4 servings. I changed the viggies to suit my tastes too... cauliflower seemed strange to me in a quiche so i put in drained frozen spinach.

Crust:

1 C ap flour

2 T canola oil (tho i used olive)

1 T reduced calorie margarine or butter (i use the real thing)

1 T non-fat plain yogurt

1-2 T ice water

Filling:

1 1/4c mushrooms, sliced

1/2 c carrots, shredded

1/2 c onion, thinly sliced

1/4 c minced green bell pepper

1/4 c cauliflower, chopped

1/4 c broccoli, chopped

1 T reduced sodium soy sauce

1/2 t galic powder

1/2 t dried thyme

1/8 t dried marjoram

1 c low-fat ricotta

1 c shredded lowfat extra-sharp cheddar

3/4 c nonfat sour cream (i use lowfat tastes better)

1 egg

To make crust: In food processor (or with a pastry knife or  a couple knives between fingers) combine flour, oil, margarine, and yogurt til it resemble coarse cornmeal. Add 1 T of water and pulse until dough begins to stick together, to not over mix. IF needed add up to 1 more T water. Flatten dough into pancake and pressinto bottom of 9" nostick piepan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer til needed.

To make filling: Preheat oven to 350. Coat 10" skillet with nostick pray; set over med-high heat, When hot add carrots, onions, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and 1 c of mushrooms. Cook and stir 3 min. Add soy, garlic powder, thyme, and margoram; cook and stir 1 min.

Transfer to med bowl; stir in ricotta, cheddar, sour cream, and egg. Pour into pie shell. Sprinkle with remaining mushrooms.

Bake 35-40 min, or til knife inserted into middle comes out clean. Let stand 10 min before slicing.

Cal: 381 Fat: 15.7 Fiber:2.3

edit to add: i also have a recipe that uses shredded potatoes for a crust.

 

My girlfriend just made a quiche this week mainly as an experiment. She used Mashed Potato as a bottom crust. I was actually impressed with the way this came out. I don't know if potato has more calories than a flour type crust, but the potato crust definitely tasted better to me. If anyone wants more information, I can try to find out all the details on how she did it.

You can always substitute 1/3 of flour for the pastry with soy flour. It is lower in carbs, use egg whites or beaters instead of whole eggs.

I know that the pastry is what make things soooo good, BUT, you can make a frittata like quiche. Use two eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 half cup of bisquick (or something like), and up to one cup of Mozzerella cheese. a Little salt, a little pepper. I personally add a little ham, or smoked turkey, or my fav a little bacon and some green onion. Add a dash of garlic and it's really good. Bake at 425ish for 20-25 min until golden. you can use a pie pan, but for best results use a stoneware casserole dish. Oh and make sure you liberally spray with pam or something.

If you use mozz, it isn't greasy and it's amazing with eggs.

what exactly is bisquick? Is there a similar product in the UK?

Original Post by singing_girl:

what exactly is bisquick? Is there a similar product in the UK?

Its a baking mix that has a little salt, baking powder, flour. It's essentially biscuit (not cookies) or pancake mix, so I'm sure you can find something. :)

Oh BTW you can add anything you like into it. Curry, veggies, spinach, whatever. I used to hate eggs but this helped ease me into them. It has a lovely flavor, but it isn't like getting hit over the head with an egg carton.

Because of the simplified ingredient list this is also fairly healthy depending on your cheese level. :) If you do feel like indulging with pastry, use puff pastry thinly placed on the bottom of the casserol dish, pour in a double batch of the egg mix, then put a thin layer or strips across the top. Reduce the temp a little and increase the baking time by 10-20 minutes. Check it with a poke in the middle for doneness. You can skip the layer on the bottom and just strip it accross the top, that way you get the flavor without adding too much. Enjoy!

Hey, there.  Sorry I took so long to reply, but here are the recipes:

Bulgur crust - prepare bulgur as you would for tabbouleh salad by soaking with 1.5 x the volume boiling water or broth and cover for about 30 min.  Mix with 1 or 2 eggs (or egg whites, if you are very strict), then mold and bake by itself for about 20 minutes at 375

Lighter pastry crust: Take 200 g whole wheat flour, 100 g any vegetable oil, 3 tbsp sugar if making a sweet pastry, a little bit of water (about 50 mll), and a pinch of salt.  Mix all the ingredients quickly without overworking them, then let rest in the refrigerator for about 30 min.  Use as you would any other pastry. 

Hmmmmmm...I wonder if you can prebake a zucchini crust and use that as pastry crust?

I don't think Bisquik is much different from pancake mixes.  I couldn't find Bisquik in France, but made decent biscuits using any available pancake mix and a small amount of water.

When I counted where calories came from in pastry recipes, I found that they came mostly from fats.  Pastry is also low in moisture, so its calorie density is high compared to filling (so long as the filling isn't loaded with bacon, cream and cheese).  Consider upping the ratio of filling to crust - top crusts only, deeper pans,  rolling dough out thinner, don't double it up on the sides to get rid of it, etc.