For Crust
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 TBS cold butter, cut into ½” cubes
- 1/2 cups ice water
For Filling
- 1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed
- 10 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly gound black pepper
- 2 ½ cups gruyere cheese, shredded
To make the crust: pulse flour and salt in the bucket of a food processor. When combined, add butter. Pulse until the butter is pea-sized and mixed in with the flour. Slowly drizzle in the ice-cold water while pulsing the mixture, about 1 TBS of water at a time. Stop as soon as the dough comes together, in order to avoid overworking the dough (which will make for a tough crust). Remove the dough from the food processor, and using your (cold!) hands, form the dough into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap, and set in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the asparagus into 1” pieces. In a medium-sized bowl, toss the asparagus with a little bit of oil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Place the asparagus onto a sheet pan in a single layer, and roast for about 10 minutes, or until the stalks are fully tender and are just beginning to shrivel and color. Remove the asparagus from oven and set aside, and drop the oven temperature to 350.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Stir half of the cheese into the egg mixture, and if you’ve got any fresh herbs on hand, chop those up and mix them in as well! Set aside.
When you are ready to roll out the dough, unwrap your disk and allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes (this will make it easier to work with). Place the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough, rotating it to prevent sticking. Aim for a dough round that is approximately 1/8” thick, and larger than the circumference of your pie dish. Transfer the dough into the dish, gently pressing the dough into the corners of the pan. Trim excess dough, and make the top edge as functional or as decorative as you’d like. If you are not making the quiche right away, set it in the fridge until you are ready to go.
Set the quiche crust on top of a sheet pan (to make lifting it easier and to help prevent spills into your oven). Place the remaining half of the cheese, along with the cooked asparagus, on top of the quiche shell, and then pour the egg mixture on top. We like to crumble a bit of extra cheese on top to finish it off! Place the quiche into the oven and bake until lightly golden and set in the center, about 40-45 minutes. If the crust is browning too quickly, you can cover the quiche with foil to prevent it from burning before the eggs are fully cooked.
Remove quiche from the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving to allow it to set. Cut the quiche into 6 or 8 slices, and serve warm or at room temperature.