Phil Vickery's summer asparagus quiche with crumbly cheese

Friday 5 June at 12:15pm

Phil’s championing another in-season British favourite. We're bang in the middle of asparagus season and Phil's helping us make the most of it while it's here with his asparagus masterclass - before making a delicious summer quiche, perfect for picnics this weekend!

Summer asparagus quiche with crumbly cheese

Serves: 6 - 8

Ingredients

500g shortcrust pastry

1 egg white

2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped

3-4 tbsp olive oil

30 fresh asparagus spears, say 500-600g

1 medium egg

1 yolk

200ml milk

Salt and pepper

1/2 tsp ground coriander

100g finely grated Gruyere cheese

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C gas 4. Roll out the pastry nice and thin on a lightly floured surface, and line a 36cm x 12cm x 3cm deep rectangular loose bottomed flan tin. Trim as necessary, making sure you have a nice high lip above the edge of the tin.
Dock 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 with not too much colour.
Remove from the oven and carefully remove the beans and paper so you don’t damage the pastry. Brush the pastry with beaten egg white and return to the oven for approximately 8-10 minutes to set and seal the pastry well.
Next, cut the bottom few centimetres off of the spears so they will fit into the cooked base nice and snugly - make sure you have plenty to pack in
Take a large handful of the leftover stems, chop into small pieces and add to the onions, then cook with 3-4 tbsp of oil to soften (you can use the remaining stems in soups or stocks, or cook them and add to salads)
Once softened, spoon the mixture into the base of the baked flan case
In a separate pan add the 4-5 tbsp olive oil and gently sauté the spears with salt and pepper to get a nice colour and cook through slightly
Once cooked, pack the spears nice and neatly on the onions, side by side and nice and tight
Whisk the eggs, yolks and milk together well and season with salt, pepper and ground coriander
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, this will probably be 30-35 minutes.
Remove from the oven when just set, then leave to cool at room temperature
Cut across the flan with the asparagus so you end up with a neat looking perfect quiche, and finely grate over a little fresh Gruyere cheese just before serving, the cheese must not melt