Asparagus quiche

My lovely daughter left some shopping on my doorstep – eggs, cheese, flour and a bunch of asparagus.  The quiche made here is small but took me two days to eat, so would be fine for two people.  The recipe owes a lot to Elizabeth David, and to Anna Thomas. I have been making versions of it since 1976 so have had plenty of time to practice.

Amanda

• For a 6 inch (15cm) tart tin:

• Pastry:   75g flour, 30-40g butter, a smidgeon of water

• Filling:  1 Tbsp flour, 2 largish eggs, milk and butter or cream,  50-100g grated cheese, one small onion or leek, a 1/2 bunch of green asparagus, salt pepper

• Method:  make the pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour until it looks like bread crumbs.  Then stir in the water and gently make a ball.  Roll out the pastry very thinly on a smooth surface dusted with flour. Use it to line a buttered tart tin.  If the pastry breaks just patch it it, the main thing is to treat it very gently (it’s not play-do).  Leave to rest for 30 min and then bake for 20 min at 160°C. Let the shell cool before filling.

While the shell is resting, dice one onion.  Cut the ends off the aparagus and dice the next few centimeteres, leaving the spears intact.  Sauté the onion and diced asparagus in a non stick pan with a little oil or butter. 

In another pan make a bechamel sauce with 1Tbsp of flour, a tsp of butter and enough milk to create a cream like consistency.  Gently heat the sauce until the flour thickens the liquid, ending up like custard.  Season with salt and pepper and let it cool. Crack 2 eggs and stir the yolks into the cool bechamel.  Stir in the onions and diced asparagus.  Stir in half the grated cheese.  Whisk the 2 egg whites until fluffy  and fold into the filling.

• Assembly:  scatter half the remaining cheese on the cooked base.  Then spoon in the filling.  Finally arrange the asparagus spears on the top, along with any remaining filling and cheese.  Sprinkle with ground pepper.

• Cooking: place on a baking sheet in a hot oven and keep an eye on it.  Take it out when it has set and is browning on top.  Best eaten warm with salad.