Asparagus & Leek Quiche
This is a fantastic asparagus and leek quiche recipe that you’ll love to have in your kitchen repertoire. Make it into a classic or deep pan form.
A shortcrust pastry base with an egg custard, filled with your favourite meat and vegetables, quiche is the perfect all-in-one dish.
If you are tight for time, you could use a shop-bought shortcrust pastry or puff pastry, but the homemade version tastes so much better and it’s so simple to prepare. Also, if you want to make a gluten-free or dairy free option see my variations section for replacements.
If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment below and rate it – it’s really helpful to me and other readers knowing what you think! And don’t forget to take a picture and tag me @thegourmetlarder or hashtag it #thegourmetlarder on Instagram or Facebook. I love seeing what you’ve been baking! 🙂
RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS
- EASE: easy and great for freezing.
- FREE FROM: this recipe is nut-free, check out my gluten-free and dairy-free options in the variations section.
- GREAT FOR: weekend baking, picnics or friends and family visiting.
- TASTE & TEXTURE: a delicious buttery crust, with a silky cream custard and your favourite filling.
- SERVING: goes great with a salad or some homemade chips.
© THE GOURMET LARDER. All images and content are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe, please do so using the share buttons provided. Please do not republish the recipe or its content in full instead, include a link to this post for the recipe. Further information can be found in my FAQ’s.
INGREDIENTS
For this recipe all you need are these ingredients:
- Plain or all-purpose flour – is ideal for the pastry as it does not contain high levels of gluten.
- Butter – gives the pastry a nice rich buttery taste. Chill the butter to ensure the pastry dough remains cold during preparation.
- Medium eggs – are ideal for making the custard. Make sure they are at room temperature before you start.
- Milk – gives the custard a light texture and when combined with the cream it makes it that little bit indulgent.
- Double or heavy cream – gives the custard a nice rich silky texture. If you don’t want to use cream, simply swap it for the same amount of extra milk.
- Asparagus and leeks – are my choice of filling for my quiche but check out the variations section for further ideas.
- Thyme – adds a nice mellow taste to the custard, but feel free to change it for your favourite herb or spice.
- Cheddar cheese – is one of my favourite hard cheeses to use in baking and is easy to find.
- Salt – elevates the ingredients flavours, bringing out the best characteristics of any recipe.
SUBSTITUTIONS
While I am making recommendations for alternative ingredients, I haven’t necessarily tried them. If you try making any adaptions, I would love to know how you get on and share it with the other readers.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION
- Flour: replace the gluten flour with a 1:1 alternative gluten free flour, such as Doves Farm Free plain gluten free flour. If possible, choose a flour which contains xanthan gum or alternatively, add 1 tsp to your batter for stability. You can also try Doves Farm gluten free self-raising flour.
VEGAN OPTIONS
- Butter: I recommend Naturli vegan block or Flora plant-based block butter alternative.
- Dairy-free milk: replace the milk with non-dairy milks such as almond, oat, rice or soy milk.
- Cream: I recommend the Coconut Collaborative double cream or Elmlea plant based double cream.
- Not using egg in the pastry – is not an issue. The egg makes the dough a little more elastic and richer in taste. I actually tend not to add the egg yolk when I make a quiche because there are so many eggs already in the custard. If you decide not to use the egg you will probably need a couple of extra tablespoons of cold water instead.
Egg replacement – an egg replacer such as Ener-G can be used as a replacement, it is potato starch which binds ingredients together. Quantities vary between brands so follow the pack instructions.
- Cheese – is easily replaceable with nutritional yeast, which adds a real depth of flavour to a dish. I sometimes even use it for dishes that contain cheese such as a cheese sauce. It just adds a different characteristic to some family favourites like lasagne, or cauliflower cheese.
WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?
Quiche is so versatile and it is pretty much a blank canvas for all your favourite vegetables, meats, fish and cheeses. Here are a few suggestions:
Most vegetables will work. If you choose a vegetable that typically releases a lot of moisture such as mushrooms, courgettes, leeks, broccoli or butternut squash, it is best if they are pre-cooked prior to baking. Other great vegetable suggestions include spinach, swiss chard, kale, asparagus, peppers, onions and tomatoes to name a few.
- Fish and seafood – such as a mix or mussels, prawns, clams work great and are best pre-cooked. One of my favourites is smoked salmon.
- Meats – are best used cooked. Ham, bacon or diced chicken are all delicious.
- Cheeses – such as cheddar, mozzarella, feta or blue cheese add a whole other level to this dish.
- Herbs – fresh or dried are also great additions and will give that extra boost of flavour.
If you experiment, Please leave a comment at the bottom of the post – it’s really helpful to me and other readers knowing how you got on and I regularly update these posts and the feedback I receive helps to make the recipes even more useful.
NUTRITION
Serving: classic quiche slice
Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, or the source of nutrition data.
I strive to keep the information as accurate as possible but make no warranties regarding its accuracy.
I encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
STORAGE AND FREEZING
This quiche will keep well for up to 5 days in the fridge and can be eaten cold or warm, I just place it in a pre-heated oven for a few minutes.
Freezing: Quiche is ideal to have made ahead in the freezer. Once baked it can be frozen whole or sliced up into individual portions. Once defrosted I find it is best to reheat it in the oven for a few minutes.
© THE GOURMET LARDER. All images and content are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe, please do so using the share buttons provided. Please do not republish the recipe or its content in full instead, include a link to this post for the recipe. Further information can be found in my FAQ’s.
TOOLS YOU’LL NEED
Here is a list of some kitchen equipment that I use and recommend for this recipe.
I like the sturdiness of this bowl and its 4 litre capacity means I can use it for mixing just about everything in the kitchen. It is also microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe.
These different size mixing bowls are really useful depending on the amount of food you are preparing. They also have airtight lids that fit snugly to seal and keep food fresh, great for using as dry storage bowls with lids. The plastic lid of the largest bowl has a removable centre, where one of 3 graters can be used for grating cheese or vegetables.
I do own a plastic mixing bowl but I am personally not a big fan of them. These 3 bowls are on the smaller size but good for the odd cake making.
These springform pans make removing cakes from them after baking a doddle. I personally tend to line them as often as possible to ensure that my cakes don’t break for added security.
I like to use this type of pan for pies that I am going to serve out of the tin on a plate.
Please check out my Shop for a curated collection of some of my favourite baking equipment. The Gourmet Larder is an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
TIP: I highly recommend using metric measurements and a digital kitchen scale, rather than cup measurements. If you have ever ended up with dry, dense or crumbly baked goods, it might be because of inaccurate volume measurements, not all measuring cups are made equally. All my recipes on this blog are carefully developed so that you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success, using metric measurements. It is also a lot easier, less messy and you will get far better, consistent results. 🙂
If you are interested in understanding conversions, here you will find the best conversion chart.
RECIPE TIPS
To avoid the pastry shrinking, make sure to rest the dough once you’ve made it and again after you’ve placed it in the baking form.
In order to avoid spilling the filling, fill the pastry shell 2/3 full of the custard and then place the quiche into the oven. You can then top up the quiche with the remaining custard.
Classic Quiche
- 25cm ceramic dish or tart tin
INGREDIENTS LIST
Shortcrust pastry
- 250 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 125 g butter (cold and diced)
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 medium egg (two egg yolks)
- 2-3 tbsp water (40 ml cold)
Custard filling:
- 4 medium eggs (200g total)
- 125 ml double or heavy cream
- 250 ml milk
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- pinch of ground white or black pepper
Filling:
- 1 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 250 g asparagus (tips removed and the remainder sliced into small 1cm rounds)
- 150 g leeks (sliced)
- 1/2 tsp thyme (fresh or dried)
- 1 tbsp plain flour (all-purpose)
- season with salt and ground pepper to taste
- 100 g grated cheddar cheese
Preparation
- Pastry: Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, add the diced butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Try not to overwork the dough as it will start to warm and become too elastic and shrink when baked. It is because we don't want the dough overheating that I don't recommend using a food processor for this type of pastry.
- Add the egg (if using) and enough cold water to bring the dough together. (If you decide not to use the egg you may not need so much water) Knead the dough 2 or 3 times with the palm of your hand. If the dough is not coming together you can add an extra tablespoon of water.
- The key to a good shortcrust dough is keeping it cold and not overhandling it. Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap in greaseproof paper or cling film and place in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour to relax the gluten.
- Rolling the pastry: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to about 5mm / (1/4 inch) thickness and about 5cm (2 inches) wider than the circumference of your fluted flan dish or pan. Roll up the dough around your rolling pin and unroll it over your pan. Lift the edges gently and press the dough into the sides of the pan.
- Once the dough is flush with the top sides of the pan you can decide how you would like to finish it. When making tarts, I make sure the dough has rested for a long time, this way the dough is less likely to shrink during baking. Trim the top edge using a sharp knife.
- Place the tart shell in the freezer or the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C fan / 400°F / Gas 6.
- Blind baking: Remove the shell for the freezer and prick the base with a fork (this helps to stop the pastry rising unnecessarily during baking).
- Next, place a piece of pre-crumpled baking paper inside and fill to the rim with baking beans.
- Par-bake the tart for 25 minutes. Remove the parchment paper with the beans and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the pastry is a pale golden colour.
- Allow the tart shell to cool completely.
- Filling: Prepare the leeks and the asparagus.
- In a large frying pan, add the butter, leeks, salt and thyme.
- Cook the leeks for about two minutes then add the sliced asparagus. Continue to cook for 5 minutes until they have softened and stir in the flour, then remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.
- Custard: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cream, salt and ground pepper together.
- Pre-heat your oven to 170°C fan / 375°F / Gas 5.
- Assembly: Trim off the excess crust from the top edge of the tart shell using a sharp serrated knife.
- Add the filling to the bottom of your pastry shell and gently pour the custard mixture over the filling until the tart shell is just about full, stopping about 3-4 millimetres from the top of the shell. Alternatively, fill it 3/4 full then transfer to the oven before filling with the remaining custard.
- Top the custard with the asparagus tips and the cheddar cheese.
- Baking: Place the quiche on the tray into the centre of your oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the edges of the quiche are completely set and the centre is still a bit ‘jiggly.’
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
www.thegourmetlarder.com
Deep Pan Quiche
- 20cm springform pan
INGREDIENTS LIST
Shortcrust pastry
- 300 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 150 g butter (cold and diced)
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 4-5 tbsp water (cold)
Custard filling:
- 8 medium eggs (480g)
- 250 ml double or heavy cream
- 500 ml milk
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- pinch of ground white or black pepper
Filling:
- 3 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 350 g asparagus (tips removed and the remainder sliced into small 1cm rounds)
- 350 g leeks (sliced)
- 1 tsp thyme
- 3 tbsp plain flour (all-purpose)
- season with salt and ground pepper to taste
- 150 g cheddar cheese
Preparation
- Pastry: Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, add the diced butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Try not to overwork the dough as it will start to warm and will become too elastic and shrink when baked. It is because we don't want the dough overheating that I don't recommend using a food processor for this type of pastry.
- Add the cold water and knead the dough until it begins to come together. If the dough is not coming together, you can add an extra tablespoon of water.
- The key to a good shortcrust dough is keeping it cold and not overhandling it. Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap with cling film and place in the fridge for 1/2 hour to relax the gluten.
- Rolling the pastry: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to about 5mm / (1/4 inch) thickness and about 18cm (7 inches) wider than the circumference of your springform pan.
- Roll up the dough around your rolling pin and unroll it over your pan. Lift the edges gently and press the dough into the sides of the springform pan. You will find this is a little fiddly because of the amount of pastry. If the pastry breaks, simply cut off a small piece form the edge once you have filled the springform and fill the cracks. (Wet your fingers with water if the pastry doesn't stick in place.)
- Once the dough is flush with the top sides of the pan, lightly fold the excess dough over the sides to allow it to hang over the edge. I prefer to use this method for larger tart shells as it prevents the dough from shrinking too easily. Once the tart shell has been pre-baked we can trim it.
- Place the tart shell in the freezer or the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C fan / 400°F / Gas 6.
- Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork and place a piece of pre-crumpled baking paper inside the shell and fill to the rim with baking beans.
- Par-bake the tart for 25 minutes. Remove the parchment paper with the beans and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the pastry is a pale golden colour.
- Allow the tart shell to cool completely.
- Filling: Prepare the leeks and the asparagus.
- In to a large frying or sauté pan, add the butter. Place the pan over a medium heat and add the leeks, salt and thyme.
- Cook the leeks for about a minute then add the sliced asparagus. Continue to cook for 8 minutes until they have softened and stir in the flour.
- Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.
- Custard: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cream, salt and ground pepper together.
- Pre-heat your oven to 170°C fan / 375°F / Gas 5.
- Assembly: Trim off the excess crust from the top edge of the tart shell using a sharp serrated knife.
- Add the filling to the bottom of your pastry shell and gently pour the custard mixture over the filling until the tart shell is just about full, stopping at about 3-4 millimetres from the top of the shell. Alternatively, fill it 3/4 full then transfer to the oven before filling with the remaining custard.
- Top the custard with the cheddar cheese and transfer the quiche to a large baking tray.
- Baking: Place the quiche on the tray into the centre of your oven and bake for 1 hour and 25-35 minutes, until the edges of the quiche are completely set and the centre is still a bit ‘jiggly.’
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
www.thegourmetlarder.com
PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT FOR YOU!
If you tried this Asparagus & Leek Quiche or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you. Also, please leave a star rating whilst you’re there!
Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter, so that you don’t miss out on more delicious recipes and follow me on social media.
HUNGRY FOR MORE? FOLLOW ME!
PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER
If you liked this asparagus and leek quiche recipe,
take a look at my inspirational recipe collection for more ideas.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter, so that you don’t miss out on more delicious recipes and follow me on social media.
HAPPY BAKING!
