Quiche takes a turn for the decadent with this creamy asparagus quiche — perfect for your Easter menu planning or to add a touch of green to your St. Patrick’s Day table. It takes a few extra steps to get the smooth filling perfect, but we think it’s totally worth it.
Just ask the pile of crumbs left on the pie plate at the end of a recent Yankee Editorial staff meeting…
Rich and savory asparagus quiche.
Spring is coming, folks. I promise, it is! If you’re like me and you like to hurry things along one easy way to get yourself thinking and feeling spring is to lighten up your menu and start adding some early spring produce to your dishes. Since I love asparagus, those bright green spears are the first things I reach for.
Fresh asparagus, shallots, and mushrooms add flavor to this asparagus quiche.
In this quiche, the asparagus is joined by baby portabella mushrooms and thinly sliced shallots, along with a generous handful of Swiss cheese, to pack in plenty of flavor.
The extra steps come with the eggs/milk part of the process. Instead of relying on a large amount of eggs to set the filling, you’re going to reach for the heavy cream and prepare a savory custard.
Once the cooked asparagus, mushrooms, and shallots are in place and topped with cheese, heavy cream is scalded and then cooled before being slowly whisked into a bowl of beaten eggs. Then the liquid is poured over the filling, and into the oven it goes.
I like my asparagus in trimmed spears on top of the quiche so I wait until the liquid has been poured before gently placing them on top.
Adding the custard filling to the quiche’s filled buttery pastry shell.
Out of the oven the quiche smells wonderful, but how could it not? Buttery crust, eggs, cream, cheese, and veggies sure know how to work together.
At first bite I thought the quiche hadn’t baked long enough — that’s how smooth and creamy the custard filling was. I inspected my slice with confusion. The knife tester had come out clean and the slice was neat and tidy, but since I’d never had a bite of quiche melt in my mouth before, I thought something must have been wrong with it. Turns out there was just something wrong with me. This quiche was creamy perfection!
Rich and delicious asparagus quiche.
Next time you’re craving quiche, or if company is coming for brunch, give this asparagus quiche a try. You can always swap out the veggies for your favorites, or lighten it up by using half milk and half heavy cream, but you’ll lose out on some creaminess with the calories.
Happy spring! Bring on the green!
This post was first published in 2013 and has been updated.
Aimee Tucker
Aimee Tucker is Yankee Magazine’s Home Editor and the Senior Digital Editor of NewEngland.com. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.
