Spring asparagus quiche recipe

Why It's Good:

Simple, delicious, hearty and easy to make, this meal provides wholesome protein, calcium, and good-for-you spring vegetables.

Why It's Green:

Like all vegetarian meals, this dish is low on the food chain, so it possesses lower concentrations of agricultural chemicals than animal food products. (Buy organic ingredients, and your exposure is guaranteed to be as low as possible.) Make this quiche using local eggs and vegetables and you're really doing your part to support local farmers and decrease emissions and fuel use involved in long-distance shipping.

Spring's Tastiest One-Dish Meal

Quiche and lattes have been used to call into question the masculinity of men, and besmirch presidential candidates. Frankly, I'm sick about it as these happen to be two of my favorite things (this from someone who digs in the ground wearing Carhartts with dirt beneath her nails). Once considered the ultimate 'yuppie' food, quiche actually makes an earthy, one-dish meal and is a perfect vehicle for local eggs and fresh, in-season, farm-raised asparagus. Combined with spring onions and a heap of sweet Gruyere cheese, it's a combo that's hard to beat. So rebel against stereotype and enjoy your quiche with a double-shot latte. You're not an elitist. You just have good taste.—Susie Quick

  Asparagus Quiche



You can also use a prepared or frozen pie crust. Just follow the directions for pre-baking it before adding the quiche filling. Use inexpensive pinto beans for your pie weights.

1 recipe Butter Pie Crust (recipe follows)
4 ounces thin asparagus spears
2 large local, organic eggs
2 large local organic egg yolks
1 1/4 cups organic half-and-half
4 scallions or spring onions, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to an 11-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and trim the edges. (Alternatively, use a 9-inch pie pan or glass pie dish.) Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. If using a frozen crust, thaw it and crimp the edges to the pie plate.

2. Meanwhile, trim all but the top 4 inches of asparagus spears. Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water 5 minutes and rinse beneath cold running water. Set aside.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Line the pastry with a small piece of parchment or wax paper and fill with about 1 cup dried beans. Bake until the crust is set, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, yolks, and half and half. Add the scallions, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and Gruyere and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared crust. Arrange asparagus spears in pinwheel fashion on top and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until the quiches is puffed and golden, but still a little jiggly in the center, about 30 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack 10 minutes before serving.

  Butter Pie Crust



Enough for a 9-inch pie

If desired, you can use 1 cup all-purpose and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour. It's easiest to make the crust in a food processor, if not use a pastry blender to cut the butter into small pea-size pieces before adding water.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 to 2 tablespoons ice water

To make the dough in a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and butter in the processor and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube and pulse quickly 5 or 6 times, or until the dough comes together and starts to pull away from the sides of the container. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling out.