Classic ham, asparagus and Swiss quiche with an elegant spin. Versatile approach for making your own crust or using refrigerator or frozen deep dish crust.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time50 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr20 minutesmins
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: asparagus, ham, quiche, Swiss cheese
Servings: 6
Author: adapted from Lunds & Byerly's real food recipe
Ingredients
Crust (can substitute refrigerated or frozen deep dish crust)
1cupunbleached flour
1/2tspsalt
1/2cupunsalted butter, cold (1 stick)
1tspvinegar
4tbspice water, approximate
Quiche
1/2 bunchasparagus, about 8 average spears
1tbspunsalted butter
1smallsweet onion, chopped
6ouncesham, chopped
6largeeggs, whisked
1/2cupheavy cream (whipping cream)
1cupshredded Swiss cheese, divided
1/2tspkosher salt
1/2tspdried dill
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Crust
In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt. Using the large holes on a grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture, tossing every few strokes to coat the bits of butter with flour. In a measuring cup, whisk the vinegar and ice water. Stir gently into the flour mixture and use your hands to mix and form a ball. If needed, add a little bit more water. Form into a disk and roll out on a counter sprinkled with a little flour. Put in pie pan or quiche dish and flute edges. Cover with foil and chill until ready to use. If using prepared pie crust, fit into pie pan or quiche dish and flute the edges. Chill while the filing is prepared.
Quiche
Cut off the woody root ends from the asparagus and discard. Then cut the tips into 3 inch long pieces. Chop the remaining stems into thin pieces and reserve. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the onion. Lower heat and cook slowly, until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in the stems (not the tips), cooking for a few minutes, until bright green. Remove from heat to cool. Stir in chopped ham.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill the foil-lined, chilled pie crust with pie weights, dry beans (or your own creative alternative) and bake for 10 minutes. If you are using frozen crust, pre-bake according to directions on the package. Remove crust from oven and lower heat to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, 1/2 c. of shredded cheese, salt, dill and pepper. Stir in the cooled onion mixture, then spread in pie crust. Top with remaining 1/2 c. cheese and arrange asparagus tips in a spoke pattern. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top is puffed and golden. Cool slightly on a rack and serve warm. Quiche can be refrigerated for up to 4 days, tightly covered. To reheat, place quiche in a 300 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or microwave individual slices for 1 to 2 minutes on high.
Notes
A purchased refrigerated crust may brown more quickly, so check it halfway through baking time and cover with foil if needed.