03.26.12_Asparagus, Leek, and Gruyere Quiche

For my sister's birthday we went to a restaurant that changed their menu to feature seasonal items. The vegetable of spring was asparagus. Asparagus was all I could think about the entire following day. I was browsing our blog when I saw the picture of our Spinach and Goat Cheese Quiche Phillip had made and it made me want another quiche. The obvious solution was to find a quiche that had asparagus. Luckily Martha Stewart had a recipe for a Asparagus, Leek, and Gruyere quiche. Perfect.

I had never cooked with leeks before so I was excited to try something new. As all quiches seem to be, this was insanely easy. While Phillip beat together 4 eggs, 1 1/4 cups half and half, a teaspoon salt, a teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg, I prepped the asparagus and leeks. I cut off the tough ends of the asparagus and then sliced the stalks diagonally to create nice long strips. I saved 5 of the tops separately for decoration. For the leeks, I took one leek, cut off the dark green parts, then cut the remaining stalk in half before thinly slicing into half moons. I rinsed the leeks thoroughly to remove any grit and dirt. Next, I melted a TBSP of butter in a pan over medium heat, added the asparagus and leeks, then seasoned with S&P. I sauteed the asparagus and leeks for about 7 minutes then set aside to cool.

While I was sauteing, Phillip grated a cup of Gruyere cheese and filled the bottom of our store-bought pie crust with it. Once the asparagus and leeks were cool, we put them on top of the cheese, and then finally added the egg mixture. The quiche bakes for about an hour in a 350° oven. Our oven stopped working yesterday (unfortunate timing) so I ended up baking the quiche in our toaster oven. It fit perfectly and still worked (we just baked it for a little bit longer). When there was about 15 minutes left, I added the 5 reserved asparagus tips.

The quiche rested for 15 minutes before we served it. I made a side salad of mixed greens, slivered almonds, shavings of leftover Gruyere, and made a quick lemon vinaigrette with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, good olive oil, and S&P. This meal was so good. Sometimes the easiest meals taste the best. It was a very light but very satisfying dinner. I was worried that it would taste too oniony for Phillip but it wasn't at all and it certainly satisfied my asparagus craving. I definitely plan on making more quiches in the future. They are just too easy and too versatile to pass up.