Asparagus and Lancashire cheese quiche

John Whaite brings together an abundance of British seasonal flavours in his sublime asparagus and Lancashire cheese quiche.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

For the pastry

200g plain flourPinch of salt100g unsalted butter, cubed1 large egg2 tsp cold water

For the filling

250g asparagus spears 100g smoked bacon, finely chopped200ml whipping cream2 large eggs80g creamy Lancashire cheese, finely grated or crumbled¼ tsp freshly grated nutmegSea salt flakesFinely ground black pepper

Equipment

35x12cm Tarte maison tin (or use a 23-25cm round, fluted quiche tin)Ceramic baking beans or dried rice

Method:

For the pastry 1. Place the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingers, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Beat together the egg and the water, and add it to the flour.

• Use a dough scraper or butter knife to ‘cut’ the water into the flour. As soon as the pastry starts to clump together, turn it out onto the worktop and knead for just afew seconds until smooth. Wrap in cling, flatten into a disk, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

• Once the pastry has rested, dust the worktop with flour and roll the pastry out until it is slightly larger than the tin. Roll the pastry around the rolling pin then unroll it carefully into the tin. Press the pastry into the grooves of the tin, and slice off the excess pastry. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork, then chill for a further 30 minutes.

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and add the baking beans/rice. Bake for 15 minutes then remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 10 minutes.

• For the filling, fry the asparagus spears in a dry griddle pan until charred. In a frying pan, cook the chopped bacon over a medium-high heat, until cooked through. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cream and eggs, then stir in the nutmeg, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

• Scatter the cheese and bacon onto the base of the tart tin, and pour over the filling – any left over filling is delicious cooked into an omelette. Cut the asparagus spears in half and place these in lines on top of the filling.

• Reduce the heat of the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4 and bake the quiche for 30 minutes until puffed up, golden brown and with a slight wobble

*Allow to cool slightly then serve either warm or cold