I adore a good quiche; it is the crowning glory of any brunch table. Pair with a simple green salad and a glass of Rosé or Champagne.
Asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion Quiche
½ Lrg Sweet onion, sliced in half moons
1 Cup Asparagus, 1” pieces sliced on the bias (about 4 oz
1 Cup Crimini mushrooms, sliced (about 4 oz)
1 Cup Comté, shredded
5 Eggs
2 Egg yolks
2 Cups Heavy cream
Preheat oven to 400.
In a frying pan, on medium, with a touch of neutral oil (I use grapeseed), sauté onions until they soften, about 4 minutes.
Add the asparagus, mushrooms, and a pinch of salt to the pan with the onions and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the asparagus starts to soften.
Place the veggies in a sieve to drain and cool while you prepare the crust (recipe below).
Layer the sautéed vegetables and half of the cheese on the bottom of the crust.
Place quiche pan on a rimmed cookie sheet.
Whisk eggs, egg yolks and cream until combined and pour mixture into shell.
Top with remaining cheese and loosely cover with foil.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 45 min, remove foil and continue cooking until golden brown on top and the eggs are set, about 5-10 minutes more.
Butter Pastry by Greg Atkinson
Bainbridge Island chef and owner of Restaurant Marché, Greg Atkinson is one of my culinary heroes. I could wax on for hours about how much I admire his work and his talents. You can taste the passion and gratitude in his food and his writing/story telling is poetic. I’m a fan… Check out his restaurant - it is worth the trip, and his collection of cookbooks are amazing.
Years ago, while searching for the perfect peach pie recipe, I came across this post on NW Source, and ever since, the recipe remains my go to for almost everything requiring a pie crust.
2 Cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 Cup (2 sticks) butter, cold, cut into bit
1/3 Cup cold water
Combine the flour, salt and butter in a food processor; the butter should be about the size of small peas.
Add the water all at once and pulse the food processor on and off until the mixture comes together to form a ball of dough. Do not over-process.
Without handling the dough any more than necessary, press into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Roll pastry to about 1/8th thick (should be about 16” wide)
Line bottom of 10” springform pan with parchment. Gently nudge pastry to bottom of pan and up the sides. Trim edges so that they are even and hang over the edge slightly.
Poke bottom of pastry several times with a fork.
Line pastry shell with foil and weight with dried beans, rice or pie weights - all the way to the top and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove foil and pie weights and bake until golden, about 2 to 4 minutes.
P.S. Make that peach pie when peaches come into season - it is the best!