Asparagus Salmon Quiche

I always thought that making quiche was challenging and required a lot of time and effort. I was mistaken. This delicious dish can come together quickly with a store-bought crust. Add a nice green salad, and you have lunch or dinner. It tastes fantastic, whether served warm or cold and makes a great snack. You can prepare a fancy crab quiche or a simple leek quiche; the possibilities are endless

Ingredients for the crust

I began making quiches about a year ago and haven’t stopped since. Here's a recipe to celebrate the arrival of spring. Fresh green asparagus and smoked salmon make this quiche a delightful treat for a sunny spring day.

I enjoy making my own crust, but when I'm not in a hurry. I have been experimenting with various recipes. The basics remain the same: butter, flour, and water, and everything must be very cold. Some recipes include an egg, a teaspoon of vinegar, or even cream cheese. Those who follow me on social media know that I'm a big fan of Jacques Pépin, and that’s where I discovered this crust recipe, which I found to be excellent. It's simple and quick to prepare.

print the recipe

Some important things to consider:
All ingredients must be cold for the dough. I put my flour and ice water in the fridge and partially frozen my butter. I saw recipes where even the food processor was put in the fridge. 
Bake the quiche on a baking sheet to prevent filling from overflowing into the oven. 
Always leave a little extra dough to patch up the crust after it is baked to prevent the filling from leaking into the baking sheet (it has happened to me more than once).
Don't fill the quiche up to the rim. If you have a lot of filling left over, add more halfway through the baking process. 
Enjoy this delicious quiche, warm or at room temperature. 

Remove the rims of the tart form by putting the quiche on a flat upside down bowl. A secret I learned from Jaques Pépin.

Ingredients:
Quiche crust:
1 cup (113g) butter
1 ½ cups (200g) flour plus more for rolling out the dough
¼ tsp salt 
¼ tsp sugar
½ cup ice water
Parchment paper
Old beans or weights to blind bake the crust 
Directions:
Cube the butter into ½-inch pieces and place them in the freezer until they are partially frozen. Refrigerate the ice water and flour. I usually do this a couple of hours before processing the dough, or overnight. Add the flour, salt, and sugar to the food processor and pulse for a few seconds. Then, add the ice-cold cubed butter and pulse about 12 times. Next, add the ice water and pulse a few times. On a floured surface, knead the dough until it forms a ball. Roll out the dough on the floured surface, turning and flipping it to prevent sticking. It looked easy when Jacques Pépin did it, but I found it more challenging. I managed to roll it over my rolling pin and place it into the tart pan. Press the dough into the pan and patch any mistakes. Keep a small ball of dough aside to repair any holes after baking the tart. Place the tart in the freezer for twenty minutes and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cover the tart with parchment paper and beans, and bake it on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment paper, then bake the tart for an additional 10 minutes. Let the tart cool before adding the filling. The crust can be baked a day before.
The filling:
Ingredients:
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese 
12 spears of green Asparagus 
4 ounces smoked salmon
3 eggs
1 cup cream or half and half
¼ cup milk 
1tsp. salt 
1tsp. pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ cup pine nuts.
Directions 
Preheat the oven to 320 ˚degrees Fahrenheit (160 Celsius)
A  9-inch tart form with removable bottom 
To roast the pine nuts, heat a frying pan over medium heat and keep a close eye on them. They can burn easily, so be careful!
Next, rinse the asparagus and snap off about an inch from the bottom. The woody part can be tough even after cooking, so it’s best to remove it. Then, use a sharp vegetable peeler to gently peel away the outer layer from the lower half of the spear. This will remove the fibrous skin and expose the tender, pale green flesh underneath. Leave the tops untouched.
Spread the cheese evenly on the bottom of the quiche. Arrange the asparagus spears in a circular pattern atop the quiche. To make them fit, trim the ends. (See  photo) Place pieces of salmon between the asparagus. Add the trimmed ends of asparagus wherever there’s space.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, cream, milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until the mixture is smooth. Pour the egg mixture over the quiche. If you have extra egg filling, save it for later after the quiche has baked for at least 10 minutes, and then add it to the quiche. I had just enough filling, so I didn’t have any extra.
Sprinkle the pine nuts over the quiche and bake on a baking sheet in a preheated oven for an hour. Enjoy this delicious quiche! 
Guten Appetit!
Recipe from the many chefs before me, with a special thanks to Jaques Pèpin
The sunnycovechef.com
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