Asparagus Quiche

Ingredients

• oat flan pastry lining a 20-22 cm diameter quiche dish or tart tin
• 30 g parmesan cheese, cut in 2 pieces – optional
• 100 g onions, cut in quarters
• 30 g (2 Tbsp) unsalted butter
• 8 spears fresh asparagus
• 2 large eggs
• 250 g double cream or whipping cream – see 3rd tip
• ½ level tsp fine sea salt or fine pink Himalayan salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Make oat flan pastry and press it into a 20-22 cm diameter ceramic quiche dish or metal tart tin, then chill in fridge 1-6 hours or overnight. See 2nd tip to make a 28 cm diameter quiche.
2. Grate parmesan 6 sec/speed 10, then set aside in a small bowl; preheat oven to 160°C with fan/180°C without fan, gas 4, Aga roasting oven.
3. Chop onions 5 sec/speed 4½, then add butter and sauté 5 min/Varoma/speed spoon. Set softened onions aside on a plate to cool; meanwhile break off and discard woody asparagus stems, then cut off the tip ends 10 cm long, setting them aside for later. Cut remaining asparagus stems into 1 cm pieces and add to bowl with softened onions.
4. Mix eggs, cream, sea salt, pepper and reserved grated parmesan 30 sec/speed 4, then remove pastry shell from fridge and prick all over with a fork – see step photos.
5. Sprinkle softened onions and diced asparagus stems evenly over base of pastry shell, then gently pour egg mixture over top. Arrange reserved asparagus spears on top of mixture – they may sink into it.
6. Bake quiche 30 minutes or until golden brown and puffed on top. Serve hot, warm, room temperature or cold – see 4th tip to see what we like to have with it. If you’re making it to serve later, cool in dish/tin on a wire rack 30 minutes then chill in fridge until ready to serve.

Janie’s Tips

1. To use leftovers in this recipe, feel free to choose roasted or steamed vegetables, other diced meats, cheddar cheese, blue cheese, and let me know in the comments below which are your favourite combinations!
2. To serve 6-8, make the larger quantity of oat flan pastry (see recipe) and press it into a 28 cm diameter quiche dish or tart tin, then chill. Increase all other ingredients as follows: use 150 g onions, 3 Tbsp butter, 12 spears asparagus, 4 large eggs, 375 g cream, ¾ tsp fine sea salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper. Baking time may be 5-10 minutes longer so keep an eye on progress during baking.
3. Double cream is a pure cream with around 48% butterfat. It’s easy to make in your Thermomix with my recipe.
4. We like to serve quiches with a chutney or two for a picnic, a quick lunch or an easy supper. For something more substantial, serve with salad/s, sliced ripe tomatoes, roasted vegetables, baked potatoes.
5. For gluten free, make gluten free version of oat flan pastry and read all ingredients labels to ensure all ingredients are gluten free if gluten free is required.
6. This recipe is vegetarian.