Elevate Your Brunch: The Ultimate Spring Asparagus and Goat Cheese Quiche Recipe
Spring has officially sprung, bringing with it a vibrant array of fresh, seasonal produce that truly ignites my culinary creativity. As the days lengthen and the world bursts into color, my kitchen transforms into a haven for light, fresh, and utterly delicious dishes. Among the many treasures this season offers, one vegetable consistently steals the spotlight: asparagus. Its tender spears and distinct, earthy flavor are a true herald of spring, and I simply can’t get enough of it.
Even with life’s bustling moments and last-minute wedding preparations swirling around, I’ve made it a point to fully embrace the bounty of spring. We’ve been enjoying asparagus several times a week, exploring new ways to incorporate its goodness into our meals. And let me tell you, I’m now officially in full “asparagus recipe development” mode. Consider yourselves delightfully forewarned: a flurry of green, delicious recipes is on its way!
Last year, I had so many ideas for asparagus, but ultimately shared a couple of crowd-pleasers that remain firm favorites: a delightful springtime asparagus soup and the incredibly popular asparagus mimosa. The mimosa, in particular, generated an overwhelmingly positive reaction on the blog, even inspiring a rather elaborate April Fool’s joke that some people *still* believed! This year, I’m expanding my repertoire, starting with a classic that’s perfect for any spring occasion.
Why This Spring Asparagus and Goat Cheese Quiche is a Must-Try
Given my unbounded love for asparagus, choosing the first recipe to share was a delightful dilemma. After much deliberation, I settled on quiche. Not just any quiche, but a fun, deceptively fancy creation that boasts incredible versatility. This Spring Asparagus and Goat Cheese Quiche is equally at home gracing your breakfast table, elevating a leisurely brunch, serving as a light and satisfying lunch, or even starring as an elegant dinner entrée. What other dish offers such flexibility? It’s even an ideal candidate for your Easter weekend spread, should you desire a truly special centerpiece.
Now, I’m curious, what are your thoughts on quiche? Is it a resounding “yay” or a hesitant “nay” for you? Personally, I’m a huge admirer of quiche, but I must confess, it often slips my mind. This recipe marks a significant return to the world of quiche for me, as it’s the first one I’ve made since my days in culinary school! That’s a rather embarrassing admission, but it speaks to how easy it is to become over-saturated with traditional French fare during intensive training. Despite my temporary quiche hiatus, my affection for this savory custard tart has never truly waned.
Making quiche is more than just cooking; it’s an experience. It’s an excuse to roll out a beautiful pastry, perhaps use a charming rectangular tart pan (I find joy in the most unexpected kitchen gadgets!), and, most importantly, indulge in a generous amount of delicious cheese. Oh, yes!
Crafting the Perfect Whole Wheat Pastry Crust
While traditional quiche can be incredibly rich, I’ve lightened this particular version without sacrificing an ounce of flavor or luxury. My secret? I use whole milk instead of heavy cream in the silky egg custard filling. Furthermore, I adopted my sister’s ingenious whole wheat dough recipe, which perfectly balances equal parts all-purpose flour and traditional whole wheat flour. This combination results in a crust that is both tender and wonderfully wholesome.
Then, in a delightful contradiction that brings everything together, I added generous dollops of fresh, tangy goat cheese. Because, balance, right? Let me assure you, this whole wheat dough is every bit as exquisite as a crust made entirely with all-purpose flour, if not more flavorful. It’s wonderfully flaky, buttery, and possesses all the characteristics of a truly exceptional quiche dough. What’s more, if you have a food processor, it takes mere minutes to prepare. You can even make the dough several days in advance and store it in the refrigerator, allowing you to get a head start on your baking project.
The Crucial Step: Blind Baking for a Flawless Crust
I understand that this recipe might appear slightly daunting at first glance, especially given the length of the instructions. Please don’t be intimidated! When you break down the steps, it’s quite manageable and surprisingly straightforward. The most time-consuming, yet absolutely critical, part of this recipe is preparing and blind-baking the quiche dough. Blind-baking involves partially or almost completely baking the pastry crust before adding the filling. This is the golden rule for all quiches, and a step you should never, ever skip!
My biggest piece of quiche advice is unwavering: **never** bypass the blind-baking step. Skipping it will invariably lead to a gummy, undercooked dough – a dreaded “soggy bottom.” Or, even worse, you’ll be forced to over-bake your delicate quiche filling in an attempt to cook the raw pastry. There is truly nothing more disappointing than an undercooked crust paired with an overcooked, rubbery custard. Trust me on this one; a perfectly blind-baked crust is the foundation of an outstanding quiche.
Assembling Your Delicious Spring Quiche
Once you’ve successfully blind-baked the tart dough, the filling process is wonderfully simple! To ensure that you don’t over-fill your beautifully baked crust, I recommend arranging your “extras” – the flavorful ingredients – in the tart pan *before* pouring in the liquid egg and milk custard. This method allows for precise placement and prevents spills.
For this particular quiche, you’ll need perfectly blanched asparagus. This involves a quick dip in boiling water followed by an immediate plunge into an ice bath, which preserves their vibrant green color and tender-crisp texture. And, for an extra layer of gourmet flavor, I highly recommend adding some of my favorite garlic confit, which I shared with you all a few weeks ago. While entirely optional, the mellow, sweet garlic notes it imparts are truly phenomenal. If you have leftover roasted garlic cloves, those would also be a fantastic addition!
Finally, I gently pour in the creamy custard filling – a simple yet exquisite blend of fresh eggs, wholesome milk, a pinch of salt, and a dash of freshly ground nutmeg. To crown this masterpiece, I scatter generous chunks of soft, tangy goat cheese evenly over the top, then it’s off to the oven. The combination of tender asparagus and creamy, tart goat cheese is, in my humble opinion, one of the best flavor pairings in the entire culinary world.
Baking to Perfection: Tips for a Silky Custard
Just like any egg-based custard, it’s always preferable to cook quiches at lower temperatures for a longer duration, rather than rushing them with high heat. This gentle baking approach is key to achieving that coveted silky-smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture. For a quiche of this size, this means you’ll need to allocate more than an hour of baking time. While it requires a bit of patience, I promise you, the results are absolutely worth every minute. The creamy, flavorful custard, combined with the tender asparagus and tangy goat cheese, nestled in a flaky, wholesome crust, will leave you utterly delighted. Enjoy every exquisite bite!
This Spring Asparagus and Goat Cheese Quiche is more than just a recipe; it’s an invitation to savor the freshest flavors of the season in an elegant and comforting dish. Whether you’re hosting a spring brunch, preparing a special Easter meal, or simply want to treat yourself to a delicious and wholesome meal, this quiche is sure to impress. Its versatility and delightful flavor profile make it a recipe you’ll want to revisit again and again.
Spring Asparagus and Goat Cheese Quiche
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Ingredients
Whole Wheat Pastry Crust:
- ¾ cup (90 g) whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup (90 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (4 oz; 115 g) chilled unsalted butter cut into ½-inch cubes
- ¼ cup (60 mL) ice water
Filling:
- 1 small bunch fresh asparagus blanched (see directions below)
- garlic confit or roasted garlic cloves optional, but recommended
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups (480 mL) whole milk or 1 cup whole milk, plus 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg
- 3 ounces soft goat cheese plain or herbed
Instructions
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Prepare Quiche Dough: Combine the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse several times to mix thoroughly. Add the cold, cubed butter, and pulse 10 to 12 times until the butter is incorporated and the butter is no smaller than pea-sized. You want the butter pieces to be in varying sizes, some small and others slightly larger. This will result in the flakiest crust.
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Add the ice water, and pulse until the dough just begins to clump together loosely. Remove the dough to a clean counter top, shape together with your hands into a square disc, and cover tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour. Make Ahead Tip: Dough can be prepared up to two days in advance and kept wrapped tightly in the refrigerator.
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Blind-Bake Quiche Dough: Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C) with a rack in the center position. Grease an 8-inch x 11.5-inch rectangular (1-inch deep) tart pan and set aside. Remove the dough from the fridge, and place on a clean, lightly floured countertop. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, starting from the center of dough to the outside, roll dough into a large rectangle. It should be ¼-inch thick or slightly thinner. Throughout the process, pick up dough carefully and move regularly on the countertop to ensure it does not stick.
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Using the rolling pin, roll and pick up the dough and lay over the greased tart pan, gently guiding it into the sides of the tart (try to avoid stretching the dough), and pressing with your fingers. Make sure to press the dough tightly inside the corners and sides to shape the tart shell. If it rips at all, press the dough back together or use dough scraps–this is very important, otherwise your egg filling will leak. Trim the edges.
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Line the tart dough with aluminum foil – shiny side facing up – allowing it to extend past the sides at least an inch or two. Fill with baking beans or weights, distributing them evenly in the corners of the pan. Blind-bake the dough for 20 minutes; then remove the foil and beans, and bake the dough, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 8 minutes, or until the dough is baked through and appears dry. Set aside on a cooling rack while you prepare the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C).
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Assemble and Bake: Bring a large pot of very salted water to a boil. Trim any tough ends from the asparagus spears. Set aside a large bowl of ice water. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and blanch the asparagus for 2 to 4 minutes (depending on the size of your asparagus), immediately transfer asparagus to ice water bath. Shocking them will help retain their green color. Once cooled, quickly remove the asparagus from the ice water and place on a larger plate lined with a kitchen linen or paper towels to soak up any excess water.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, whole milk, salt and freshly grated nutmeg, and set aside. Trim the ends of the blanched asparagus if needed, so they are all similar in length and will fit the width of the tart pan.
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Line the blind-baked quiche dough with blanched aparagus–you want roughly ½-inch between each spear (you may have some extra spears that you do not use, be sure to overcrowding the pan, because you’ll need space for the custard filling). Distribute several large cloves of garlic confit or roasted garlic cloves among the pan, if using. Carefully pour the egg mixture into the tart shell so that it nearly reaches the top. Distribute the goat cheese, in large clumps, evenly across the top of the filling.
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Bake the quiche for roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the filling still jiggles when you move the pan, continue to bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Optional: To brown the goat cheese even more, you can quickly place the tart under a broiler, set at medium heat, for several minutes.
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Once the filling is set, remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack for 20 to 25 minutes before serving. Quiche best served at warm or room temperature. Leftover quiche can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 2 to 3 days.
Tips for Success:
- If you want to make an extra decadent quiche, substitute half or all of the whole milk with heavy cream.
- Do not overwork the pastry dough; cold butter and minimal handling are key to a flaky crust.
- Always ensure your tart pan is properly sealed to prevent leaks. Patch any tears with dough scraps.
- For the silkiest custard, ensure your eggs and milk are at room temperature before whisking.
- Feel free to experiment with other spring vegetables like leeks, spinach, or green peas.