Asparagus Pie

On Monday we got six eggs from our six hens for the first time (a glorious new trend that has continued all week), and Luke and Jaz discovered some volunteer/wild asparagus growing in the pasture. I wasted no time in deciding what to make for our potluck that night: clearly an asparagus quiche was in order! Someday soon we can use goat milk and goat cheese as ingredients as well and then it will really be a homegrown affair. But for now, just using our own eggs and asparagus was exciting enough.

ingredients

for the crust:
1.5 cups flour (whatever kind you prefer)
10 tablespoons butter, cold, cut into bits
1/4 cup ice cold water
1/2 teaspoon salt

for the filling:
4 eggs
1.5 cups cheese (whatever kind you prefer)
1.5 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
6 stalks asparagus, grilled and cut into pieces
salsa (optional)

The first step is to make the crust, a process which I find hugely enjoyable so long as my children are either happily helping me or engaged elsewhere. Combine the flour, salt and butter in the food processor.

I've doubled the recipe,
hence the overwhelming amount of butter!

Pulse briefly, until the mixture loosely resembles cornmeal.

Transfer the dough to a bowl and drizzle ice cold water on top. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disc and pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Then turn it out onto a floured surface and roll it flat.

I flip the pie plate upside down on top of the rolled dough to make sure that I've rolled it out big enough. Then I fold the dough into quarters and gently place it in the pie plate before unfolding it.

Trim the excess dough using kitchen scissors (the excess can be saved and turned into a mini pie or frozen to be used as decoration in the future). I usually leave about 1/2 inch extra all around the rim of the pie plate. Next, fold the outer 1/2 inch of dough under (between the dough and the pie plate).

Now for the pretty part: press the dough down on to the top rim of the plate using a fork.

The crust needs to be chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°. When the crust is sufficiently chilled, take it out of the freezer and prick it all over with a fork. Grease a piece of tinfoil and put it over the crust, and then put a heavy pot on top to weight the crust in place (of course, you could use traditional pie weights instead, if you have them). Bake for 15 minutes.

While the crust is pre-baking, the filling can be prepared. Combine the eggs, cheese, milk, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.

I like to drizzle the asparagus with olive oil, and cook it on the grill.


When the pie crust is ready, pour the egg mixture in, and sprinkle it with chopped asparagus (I also like to add a few spoonfuls of salsa, though my wife prefers I leave the salsa out).

Bake at 375° for about 40 minutes, or until the filling is mostly firm, but maybe a little bit jiggly right in the center of the pie.

On Monday I also discovered what may be the very best thing about living next door to my mom: I can borrow her fabulous pie basket (which originally belonged to my great-grandmother, "Ma-bo") whenever I need to! It is the best way to transport a pie (or two!).

I hope everyone else is enjoying asparagus season as much as we are!