This might just be the creamiest, tastiest quiche I’ve ever made or eaten. More about that soon, but first a little ramble about plants.
For my birthday, last month, Pim gave me a whole family of succulents, in different colours, shapes and sizes. Having plants around purportedly makes people happier, healthier and less stressed. I haven’t taken the time to monitor my blood pressure or cholesterol levels before and after getting them, so I can’t officially confirm any physical health claims, but I definitely do feel a little jolt of happiness every time I glance over at my window sill. I sometimes dream of having a slightly bigger apartment, which I could then fill entirely with plants. Would that make me a crazy plant lady? Considering I have named all my current plants, it probably would. At the same time, I also dream of having several cats, so it could also just mean I’m secretly drawn to chaos.
While they’re definitely not, some of my succulents look positively edible. Reason enough to feature them in some of my photos, alongside summer purslane, which is in fact an edible succulent that can be eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach. The leaves are juicy and a little sour, while the stems have a more neutral (and in some cases even very earthy) aroma. In this recipe, I pair summer purslane leaves with juicy green asparagus and green peas in a creamy mustard and parmesan filling, encased in a crispy whole wheat crust.
Ingredients:
for the crust
200 g whole wheat flour
100 g cold butter, in small cubes
100 ml cold water
1 tsp salt
for the quiche filling
2 eggs
250 ml crème fraîche
4 tsp dijon mustard
30 g finely grated parmesan
a large handful of green peas, frozen
a large handful of summer purslane leaves
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
a few leaves of fresh basil, chopped
5- 6 green asparagus, halved lengthwise and chopped into 5cm pieces
black pepper
- Heat the oven to 180 (fan).
- Make the dough, let it rest in the fridge for 30-60 minutes, then roll it out and shape it into a buttered quiche tin or other pie tin and blind bake for about 20 minutes. You can find a more detailed description of how to make this crust here. In this instance, I had some dough left over, which I just rolled out into three long oval shapes, baked for 20 minutes and ate for lunch as crackers.
- Heat a wok or another frying pan on medium heat until hot.
- Add a little bit of sunflower or olive oil and the mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to pop, add the asparagus.
- Fry the asparagus pieces until they’re tender enough to pierce with a fork.
- Arrange half the asparagus pieces on the bottom of the quiche.
- In a bowl, combine the eggs, crème fraîche, dijon mustard, black pepper, parmesan, basil and any remaining black mustard seeds.
- Pour the mixture over the asparagus pieces.
- Add the purslane and the peas.
- Top off with the rest of the asparagus and a final sprinkling of black pepper.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes. The mixture should be set, but still very creamy and soft.
- Leave to cool to room temperature before slicing and eating.
Your pictures are always so aesthetic and beautiful. Looks absolutely delicious!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Sitara! 😀 That’s lovely to hear. And it also reminds me that I should really start blogging again soon (I had a loooong Summer break, haha). So thanks for that too 😉
LikeLike
Hahaha from a crazy cat lady to a plant-namer, thank you. That made me laugh. I love purslane and I think you’ve found a great way to utilize it! Certainly looks great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, glad you like the post. I really enjoyed this quiche and the purslane is not very dominant (next to the asparagus and parmesan), but when I finished the rest of the purslane later, I found it had an almost unpleasantly earthy taste to it. It’s not a vegetable I’m very familiar with, so I’m not sure it’s supposed to taste that way, but if you use it more often I’m very open to new ideas on how to eat it. 🙂
LikeLike
Your asparagus came out so beautifully! I usually grill mine (https://twiceastasty.com/2017/05/09/asparagus/) and don’t get nearly as pretty results in the frying pan. Does this quiche serve 6-8? I usually need a lot more egg for a full-sized pie plate.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much! This quiche serves about four people, if you also have something else on the side, but we easily finished it between the two of us.
LikeLike
I love a good quiche! This looks great 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
So do I! And thanks :D!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a beautiful quiche! sounds yummy
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Angela! Even my boyfriend – who doesn’t normally like quiche – loved this one. Don’t worry if you can’t find the purslane btw, it’s not absolutely essential. (the rest definitely is though 😉 !)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on maisysabredavid and commented:
Looks yummy and is simple to do
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! Glad you like the recipe 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds like a delicious quiche!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It truly is, I’ll definitely make this one again!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love quiche !! It is such a traditional dish in France and love how you made it with asparagus and mustard. I will definitely have to try it ! And your pictures look amazing as usual 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! I love quiche too, there are so many possible variations :D! And green asparagus are just so delicious. Here in the Netherlands, people mainly eat white asparagus, but I’m actually more fond of the green ones.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love asparagus and love spring asparagus quiche 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! So do I 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
Reblogged this on Be Like Water.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting recipe! Surprised to see mustard seeds over asparagus!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! It’s a good combination, though :)! I love mustard seeds and I think they go well with a lot of things.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Very true! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person