Asparagus & Gruyere Quiche with Wild Garlic crust
Asparagus season is here and a classic quiche is the perfect dish to see in Spring. Gruyere brings a rich note, with the wild garlic crust finishing it off with its distinctive flavour.
Ingredients
For the crust:
85g wild garlic butter (recipe can be found here)
80g finely grated Gruyere
140g plain flour
For the filling:
20g Gruyere
2 eggs
60ml milk
1 bunch of asparagus
Method
For the crust:
In a large bowl, place the flour. Chop the cold butter into small cubes, and add to the flour. With your hands, begin to rub the butter pieces into the flour, until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
Add the gruyere and continue to work through the dough until it is fully combined, add 3 tbsp of cold water, and continue to knead until the dough comes together and you have a smooth, homogenous dough. Bring it into a ball shape, wrap in clingfilm, and refrigerate for between 1 hour and 3 days.
Once dough is chilled, on a surface dusted with plain flour, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a circle, then using your rolling pin, carefully lift it on to your tart tin.
Gently press dough into the sides of the tin, then trim off excess pastry by pressing the rolling pin around the outer edge of the tin. Prick the base of the tart a few times with a fork. Refrigerate the tarte shell for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 160ºc (fan)
Line the tarte casing with foil and fill with baking beans. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and baking bins, and return to the oven for a further 15-20 minutes.
Remove pastry shell from oven and allow to cool completely
For the filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until smooth and consistent. Add the gruyere, and combine fully.
Place the asparagus spears into the cooled pastry shell filling it but without allowing the asparagus to overlap. Pour over the egg /cheese mixture evenly.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until filling has set.
Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.