Asparagus and Bacon Quiche

We bought some lovely asparagus the other day, which ordinarily I would either saute or roast. I've really been craving a quiche, however, so I thought I'd make one really quickly. The lovely thing about quiche is that even though it seems fancy, it's quite easy to make (especially if you cheat and use prepared pie crust). This time, I am setting apart the base so you can see the general pattern for making a quiche: make the base, cook the fillings and add them to the pie shell, pour the base over and bake. Any filling can be used, but I generally feel all filling materials should be pre-cooked. If you prefer a stronger cheese in your quiche, substitute the one you prefer for the mozzarella. Sometimes I like to put a layer of cheese on top of the crust before I add in the fillings too. Either way, it's very flexible, and inexpensive to make a great meal for up to 8 people per pie. I hope you enjoy!

Quiche base:

1 prepared pie crust (I'm not convinced it matters whether you buy this or make it)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk (or 1 large can evaporated milk)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Filling:

1 bunch asparagus
water
3 pieces bacon
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper as needed

Preheat oven to 450F. Line a pie plate with crust and set aside. Steam the asparagus in an inch of water (approximately 3-5 minutes), then shock in ice water before cutting into bite sized pieces. Cut the bacon into bite sized pieces, then fry. Sweat the onion in the bacon fat until translucent, then add the garlic, salt and pepper and continue to cook until the onions are caramelised. Combine bacon, onion and garlic mixture with asparagus and spread evenly over pie shell.

Whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper, then stir in cheese. Pour over filling in pie shell. Bake at 450F for 10 minutes, then reduce to 325F and bake another 55 minutes (normally I don't cook quiche that long, but this one was quite moist so it needed longer). Remove quiche from oven and let rest 10-20 minutes before serving. Serves 8.

Comments

  1. Mary Bergfeld12:52 AM

    This looks delicious. Local asparagus is getting to be sporatic so I'm going to bookmark this until it's available again. Love the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Justin7:15 AM

    this looks good, and I agree with quiche, sometimes it seems like it doesn't matter as much if you just buy a pre-made crust.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bryan1:12 PM

    Dang, that actually looks really delish. I've never had quiche that had asparagus in it - but then, I haven't eaten too many quiches recently =)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Allie7:43 PM

    Mary,

    I understand about the asparagus. It can really be hard to find good ones this time of year!

    Justin,

    I'm with you. The difference is so minute I just don't bother making it anymore.

    Bryan,

    Quiche is awesome for using up stuff in the fridge - easy to make, fancy-seeming and always wonderful t oeat. You should make one!

    ReplyDelete

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