Crustless Asparagus Quiche

Crustless Asparagus Quiche

Ingredients:

1 lb. (roughly one large bunch) of asparagus

6 eggs

2 cups cream

1 cup milk

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

10-15 slices bacon

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

 

In order to have tender and bright green colored asparagus, it is necessary to blanch it.  To do so, first cut your asparagus to the desired size and then dump it into a pot of boiling water for no more than 2-3 minutes (until tender but not limp).  Immediately drain it and dump it into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.  The asparagus should bend slightly but not be mushy.

For this recipe, I used both chopped asparagus (half inch pieces of the stems) and 12 five inch spears.  The 12 spears are used at the end as garnish to make a clock-like pattern on top.  (So the tips touch the outer rim of the dish and the cut ends meet up in the center of the pan - like hands of a clock).  Sounds complicated but it's not and it looks oh so pretty!

So... Hand select 15 of the prettiest (and similar sized) spears in your bunch (I say 15 because you only need 12 but better to be safe than sorry if a few of your 12 get damaged in the blanching process), and then chop all of the remaining spears into half inch pieces.  Next, do the blanching, draining and ice water bath, and be sure to remove them from the ice water as soon as they are thoroughly cooled so that they don't absorb too much water.

Cook the bacon in a skillet until it is crisp, and then sauté the onion in a bit (1 tablespoon) of the drippings.  Remove the onion from the pan and be sure to drain any remaining bacon drippings.  Then, in a bowl, toss together the bacon, onion, asparagus pieces (not the spears), cheese, two tablespoons of flour and salt and pepper.  Evenly spread them on the bottom of your greased quiche dish.

Using the empty bowl, mix together 6 eggs, 2 cups of cream, 1 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of flour.  The flour is the thickening agent that holds together the egg so that a pastry crust isn't necessary.  Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and be sure that it is distributed evenly.

Finally, place your 12 spears of asparagus on top in a clock pattern.  To be sure that it is even, place the 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00 o'clock pieces first and then add the remaining spears.

Bake at 400 for 30-35 minutes and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

 

Enjoy!