Spring Asparagus and Goat Cheese Quiche
A delicious elegant spring quiche filled with a creamy custard filling, fresh asparagus, and dollops of fresh goat cheese. The most time-consuming part of this recipe is blind-baking the tender, flaky whole wheat pastry crust. Don't be intimidated by the recipe length, this dish can be prepped and broken into several steps!
Ingredients
Whole Wheat Pastry Crust:
- ¾ cup (90 g) whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup (90 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (4 oz; 115 g) chilled unsalted butter cut into ½-inch cubes
- ¼ cup (60 mL) ice water
Filling:
- 1 small bunch fresh asparagus blanched (see directions below)
- garlic confit or roasted garlic cloves optional, but recommended
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups (480 mL) whole milk or 1 cup whole milk, plus 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg
- 3 ounces soft goat cheese plain or herbed
Instructions
- Prepare Quiche Dough: Combine the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse several times to mix thoroughly. Add the cold, cubed butter, and pulse 10 to 12 times until the butter is incorporated and the butter is no smaller than pea-sized. You want the butter pieces to be in varying sizes, some small and others slightly larger. This will result in the flakiest crust.
- Add the ice water, and pulse until the dough just begins to clump together loosely. Remove the dough to a clean counter top, shape together with your hands into a square disc, and cover tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour. Make Ahead Tip: Dough can be prepared up to two days in advance and kept wrapped tightly in the refrigerator.
- Blind-Bake Quiche Dough: Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C) with a rack in the center position. Grease an 8-inch x 11.5-inch rectangular (1-inch deep) tart pan and set aside. Remove the dough from the fridge, and place on a clean, lightly floured countertop. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, starting from the center of dough to the outside, roll dough into a large rectangle. It should be ¼-inch thick or slightly thinner. Throughout the process, pick up dough carefully and move regularly on the countertop to ensure it does not stick.
- Using the rolling pin, roll and pick up the dough and lay over the greased tart pan, gently guiding it into the sides of the tart (try to avoid stretching the dough), and pressing with your fingers. Make sure to press the dough tightly inside the corners and sides to shape the tart shell. If it rips at all, press the dough back together or use dough scraps–this is very important, otherwise your egg filling will leak. Trim the edges.
- Line the tart dough with aluminum foil - shiny side facing up - allowing it to extend past the sides at least an inch or two. Fill with baking beans or weights, distributing them evenly in the corners of the pan. Blind-bake the dough for 20 minutes; then remove the foil and beans, and bake the dough, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 8 minutes, or until the dough is baked through and appears dry. Set aside on a cooling rack while you prepare the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C).
- Assemble and Bake: Bring a large pot of very salted water to a boil. Trim any tough ends from the asparagus spears. Set aside a large bowl of ice water. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and blanch the asparagus for 2 to 4 minutes (depending on the size of your asparagus), immediately transfer asparagus to ice water bath. Shocking them will help retain their green color. Once cooled, quickly remove the asparagus from the ice water and place on a larger plate lined with a kitchen linen or paper towels to soak up any excess water.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, whole milk, salt and freshly grated nutmeg, and set aside. Trim the ends of the blanched asparagus if needed, so they are all similar in length and will fit the width of the tart pan.
- Line the blind-baked quiche dough with blanched aparagus–you want roughly ½-inch between each spear (you may have some extra spears that you do not use, be sure to overcrowding the pan, because you'll need space for the custard filling). Distribute several large cloves of garlic confit or roasted garlic cloves among the pan, if using. Carefully pour the egg mixture into the tart shell so that it nearly reaches the top. Distribute the goat cheese, in large clumps, evenly across the top of the filling.
- Bake the quiche for roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the filling still jiggles when you move the pan, continue to bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Optional: To brown the goat cheese even more, you can quickly place the tart under a broiler, set at medium heat, for several minutes.
- Once the filling is set, remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack for 20 to 25 minutes before serving. Quiche best served at warm or room temperature. Leftover quiche can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 2 to 3 days.
Tips for Success:
- If you want to make an extra decadent quiche, substitute half or all of the whole milk with heavy cream.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 264kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 144mg, Sodium: 591mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g