This Asparagus and Smoked Chicken Quiche is an ode to hating asparagus (I'm still not fully convinced I love it, but here it really is perfect)! When you're a kid at the dinner table (especially a nineties kid or earlier) your parents would have used the old adage of "eat what's on your plate or you get nothing".
So after the Full House credits rolled and we all sat down at the table for another dinner I was usually greeted with food I didn't particularly adore. The Swiss chard, brussel sprouts and mounds and mounds of potatoes served as many ways as possible were all things I chowed down, shall we say reluctantly.
My mother's love of asparagus spurned a hatred I still haven't completely left behind (along with my childish behavior at times) and I have never once made anything with those green spears on here so it felt time to re-visit this vegetable I simply wandered by at the supermarket every spring.
Spring is very nearly summer now, but these are still plentiful here at the supermarket or street markets I've seen in the past couple of weeks so there should still be time to give this quiche a go for dinner. And this even works cold for lunch the next day if you are stuck for time.
Maybe it was the eggs or the smoked chicken, but for once I didn't hate asparagus. In fact, enjoyed might be another way to put it.
How to prepare Asparagus and Smoked Chicken Quiche
- Make the pastry: If you are homemaking your pastry, this will need to be prepared and refrigerated for at 30 minutes.
- Roll it out: Roll the pastry out and press into your quiche dish, trimming the edges and shaping with a fork.
- Whisk the filling: Place the milk, eggs, thyme, wholegrain mustard and seasonings in a bowl and whisk lightly.
- Smokey chicken: Place the smoked chicken in the pastry base.
- Asparagus spears: Lay the asparagus spears on top of the smoked chicken.
- Pour baby: Pour the quiche filling over the top, slowly and evenly.
- Cheesy: Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top.
- Bake: Bake for 40 minutes on a lower temperature and then raise for the last 15 minutes until golden.
- Serve: Slice and serve this whilst hot!
Tips for the best Asparagus and Smoked Chicken Quiche
Homemade pastry: The pastry here is perfect for quiche and isn't completely the same as shortcrust, but this is the go to in our house and actually comes together pretty quickly (aka in 5 minutes) and can easily be made ahead meaning it's quite fuss free.
Herby crust: If you choose to homemade the pastry, adding 1 teaspoon of torn fresh thyme will go beautifully here as well as the flecks when you roll out the pastry.
Pastry ahead of time: The pastry can easily be made one or two days ahead and kept in the fridge until you're ready to bake the quiche.
Smoked chicken sub: If you can't obtain smoked chicken then shredded chicken works well for this dish too, maybe adding a little more thyme and mustard for flavoring though.
More quiche dishes you'll enjoy
Whipped Feta and Roasted Tomato Quiche
How to make:
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300F and greaseproof a baking dish.
Roll the pastry out and create a firm edge, flattening slightly with a fork.
Place the eggs, wholegrain mustard, fresh thyme, salt, pepper and milk into a bowl and whisk lightly until the eggs are broken, trying not to create too many bubbles.
Scatter the smoked chicken over the base of the pastry.
Lay the asparagus on top and pour the quiche filling slowly and evenly over the top.
Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the quiche.
Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, raise the temperature to 180C/350F and continue baking until golden brown, a further 15 minutes for a total baking time of 55 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to sit and cool for 5 minutes.
Slice and serve immediately.
Asparagus and Smoked Chicken Quiche
- Prep Time: 50 minutes (includes homemade pastry chill time)
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
- Category: Pies & Tarts
Description
Thyme flecked smoked chicken and asparagus quiche is perfect for a lunch or a spring brunch spread.
Ingredients
1 quantity bought shortcrust pastry or homemade quiche pastry
5 eggs
80 milliliters / ⅓ cup milk
½ teaspoon wholegrain mustard
½ teaspoon fresh thyme, roughly torn
½ teaspoon salt and pepper
100 grams/3.5 ounces smoked chicken, roughly chopped or torn into bite size pieces
230 grams / 8 ounces asparagus, stem removed (slice or break at 1 inch above the base)
1 ¼ cups grated mild cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/300F and greaseproof a baking dish.
- Roll the pastry out and create a firm edge, flattening slightly with a fork.
- Lay half the asparagus inside the pastry.
- Place the eggs, wholegrain mustard, fresh thyme, salt, pepper and milk into a bowl and whisk lightly until the eggs are broken, trying not to create too many bubbles.
- Scatter the smoked chicken over the base of the pastry.
- Lay the asparagus on top and pour the quiche filling slowly and evenly over the top.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the quiche.
- Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, raise the temperature to 180C/350F and continue baking until golden brown, a further 15 minutes for a total baking time of 55 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to sit and cool for 5 minutes.
- Slice and serve immediately.
Notes
Homemade pastry: The pastry here is perfect for quiche and isn't completely the same as shortcrust, but this is the go to in our house and actually comes together pretty quickly (aka in 5 minutes) and can easily be made ahead meaning it's quite fuss free.
Herby crust: If you choose to homemade the pastry, adding 1 teaspoon of torn fresh thyme will go beautifully here as well as the flecks when you roll out the pastry.
Pastry ahead of time: The pastry can easily be made one or two days ahead and kept in the fridge until you're ready to bake the quiche.
Smoked chicken sub: If you can't obtain smoked chicken then shredded chicken works well for this dish too, maybe adding a little more thyme and mustard for flavoring though.
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
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