Fresh Asparagus and chives together with Swiss Cheese in a brightly flavorful turmeric paprika all butter crust- this quiche, baked in a cast iron skillet, is the perfect brunch or eggs for dinner meal.
This is a variation on my favorite quiche, the cast iron quiche that started it all.
Asparagus season begins for me when I just can’t eat any more leafy greens. I’ve got a high tolerance, love even, for kale and collards and swiss chard (okay, I only just like swiss chard) but sometime in February I get bored and break down and buy asparagus from somewhere south. The guilt sets in, I vow to only buy local. I slip at least once more and then the season actually begins here- fresh local asparagus. And we eat it until we can’t stand it anymore (which happily usually occurs right around the same time that asparagus season here ends).
I’ve got another week in me.
notes on ingredients and choices for cast iron asparagus quiche
the asparagus
I like my vegetables crisp- it’s how I was raised. Properly washed and trimmed I’ll happily snack on raw asparagus. So, if you- like my very dear friend Missy from high school- were raised on canned asparagus and like it cooked through. You might want to sauté the asparagus bits before adding them to the filling. To keep the bright green color you could go the extra mile and steam and then shock the asparagus in ice water.
the garnish
Not listed in the recipe are the prosciutto florets atop my cast iron quiche because without the ham the quiche is vegetarian. That said the floret bits were my favorite bites
the cast iron skillet
I used a 10 1/2 inch cast iron pan – if your pan is slightly smaller you can make the crust a little thicker but you will want to eliminate an egg or two.
this Food52 article talks about conversions– math is not my thing- so I just try not to fill the pan more than 2/3 full to account for fluff
speaking of rising, sometimes my quiches expand mightily and then fall. this doesn’t bother me so I’ve never tried to fix it.
Cast Iron Asparagus Quiche
Ingredients
for the crust
- 1 1/2 cup AP flour
- 1/2 tsp tumeric powder (optional,for flavor and color)
- 1/2 tsp paprika (optional, for flavor and color)
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 8 T unsalted butter cut into about 12 pieces – chilled or slightly frozen
- About ½ cup cold water or seltzer water
for the filling
- ½ pound fresh asparagus trimmed and cut into bite sized bits
- 6 ounces (about 1 cuchopped swiss cheese
- 6 eggs
- ½ cup yogurt or sour cream
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 T or more chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Combine the flour, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Whir to combine. Add the butter, pulse few times until the butter is chopped into petite pea sized pieces. Slowly add the cold water until the starts to adhere together in little pebble like bits and if squeezed in your fist just stays together without crumbling.
- Press the dough into a disk and refrigerate wrapped in plastic wrap or waxed paper for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F
- While the dough is chilling combine the filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Take out the dough and roll it out into an approximate 15-inch round. When rolling out a dough that requires a bit more structure I fold the dough a few times and then roll it out to create layers and more evenly incorporate the butter (like a rough puff pastry)
- Place your crust into the cast iron, crimping the top edge. Add the filling. Brush the little bit of creamy egg mixture left in the bowl onto the edge of the crust to give it a bit of gloss.
- Bake at 400 for about 35-40 minutes until crust is browned and filling has completely set. Allow to cool for a about ten minutes and then serve warm or at room temperature.
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