Crustless Asparagus Quiche

Crustless Asparagus Quiche fresh out of the oven!

Cuisine: French

Online Author: Marjory Pilley

Prep time: 10 – 20 minutes (depending on if you use bacon or ham)

Cook time: 1 hour

Servings: 2-4

Since February I’ve been working on losing weight and have cut my carbohydrate intake down substantially. The effort is paying off, albeit slowly! So when I decided I wanted to make quiche for dinner using freshly harvested Asparagus from our garden, I had a crust problem. After doing a bit of research online, I found this amazing Crustless Asparagus Quiche recipe! As with all the recipes I use, I tweaked this one a wee bit. I will include the original info as well as my adaptations.

Ingredients

15-20 Asparagus spears (thin is best)

5 large eggs lightly beaten

1 cup whole milk (I used 2 % milk as we don’t drink whole milk in our house)

¼ teaspoon salt (I used sea salt)

¼ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper

¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 cup Swiss cheese shredded

½ cup ham diced; omit for vegetarian version (this is where I tweaked the recipe and instead used bacon, 4 -5 thick cut slices diced/ crumbled)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch cake or pie pan. Wash and cut the tough ends off the Asparagus spears. Cut the spears in half and set the top halves aside and the remaining halves into one-inch segments.

Combine the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and dried thyme in a medium mixing bowl. Pour egg mixture into the pan and using a fork (I used my hands) distribute the bacon, cheese and small asparagus pieces in the pan. Next place the longer spears in a sunburst design.

Bake quiche on the middle rack for 60-70 minutes (more like 60 minutes in my oven… I had it set for 70 but when I checked on it the top was already golden when it hit the 60–62-minute mark. To check if the quiche is finished, insert a knife in the center and if it comes out clean the quiche is done. The top should be lightly browned.

Asparagus tip: If you use thin Asparagus spears you do not have to cook them prior to adding them to the quiche mixture. If you use thicker stalks, you will need to cook them first. The original author of this recipe suggests microwaving them at 50% power for about 2 minutes. I prefer to sauté them in a combination of olive oil and unsalted butter.

Bon Appetit!