Phil Vickery's asparagus and crumbly cheese tart
Phil Vickery is heading to Terry’s allotment this morning in the beautiful Rhondda valley. He’ll be finding out what’s Terry’s been busy growing, before making a delicious asparagus and crumbly cheese tart.
Summer Asparagus Quiche with Crumbly Cheese
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
500g shortcrust pastry
1 egg white, beaten
30 fresh asparagus spears (500-600g)
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
1 medium egg
1 egg yolk
200ml milk
½ tsp ground coriander
100g finely grated Gruyere cheese
You will need:
Ideally a 36cm x 12cm x 3cm deep rectangular loose bottomed flan tin.
Baking beans.
Method
1. Have a nice high lip above the edge of the tin.
2. Prick the pastry with a fork, then chill well and line with baking parchment and baking beans. Cook the flan for about 12-15 minutes until the pastry is just set, but not with too much colour.
3. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the beans and paper so you don’t damage the pastry.
4. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg white and return it to the oven for approximately 8-10 minutes to set and seat the pastry well.
5. Next, cut the bottom few centimetres off the asparagus spears so they will fit into the cooked base nice and snugly - make sure you have plenty to pack in.
6. Take a large handful of the leftover asparagus stems, and chop them into small pieces. Add the chopped onion and asparagus stems into a pan with 3-4 tbsp of oil to soften. Once softened, spoon the mixture into the base of the baked flan case.
7. In a separate pan, add 4-5 tbsp oil and gently sauté the asparagus spears with salt and pepper to get a nice colour and cook through slightly.
9. Once cooked, pack the spears nice and neatly on the onions, side by side and night and tight.
10. Whisk the egg, yolk and milk together and season with salt, pepper and ground coriander.
11. Place the flan tin on a baking tray and place in the oven, then carefully pour in the custard until the flan is really full. Cook until just set - around 30-35 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven when just set, then leave to cool at room temperature.
13. Cut across the flan with the asparagus so that you end up with a neat, perfect-looking quiche. Finely grate over the Gruyere cheese just before serving, so the cheese does not melt.