ingredients
Quiche Ingredients:
1 cup Jones Dainty, Family or Heritage Ham, diced
1 9” pie crust (see recipe below, or use a store bought refrigerated crust)
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
1 cup finely sliced leeks, washed thoroughly
1/2 cup snow peas in the pod
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
2 ounces softened cream cheese
5 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
For garnish, fresh chopped parsley and chives
If using a store bought crust, proceed to Step 2.
Pie Crust (if making homemade - adds 45 mins to total cook time):
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons ice water
DIRECTIONS
*Note: Skip to Step 2 if using store-bought crust
Step 1: Place flour, salt and butter in a food processor or blender and pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs. Alternately you can use a pastry blender or two forks to combine.
With the food processor on low, pour 2 ½ tablespoons of the ice water into the feeder. Turn to high and pulse the machine until it goes from “breadcrumb” texture to a soft ball of dough. If it’s still crumbly after 15-20 seconds, add a touch more ice water.
Form dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least one hour.
Sprinkle work surface lightly with flour, unwrap dough and place on the flour. Sprinkle the top with flour and roll into a 10” circle.
Step 2: Preheat oven to 375 °F.
Gently lift the dough off the surface (tip: wrap around your rolling pin) and unroll it into the quiche pan or 9” pie plate. Press the pastry into the edges of the pan, pushing it up the sides to reach the top of the rim. Cut off excess crust around the edges. Return to refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Line crust with aluminum foil or parchment paper, then fill with baking beads or dried beans so crust bottom will remain flat and not puff up.
Bake for 20 minutes and remove from oven. Carefully remove the hot beads, and return to oven for 10 minutes, until bottom of crust is a light golden brown. Remove from oven. Reduce oven to 325°F.
While crust is baking, melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add leeks and cook for approximately 10 minutes, until soft and translucent. Do not brown.
Remove the pie crust from the oven, and sprinkle cheese over bottom of crust.
Transfer leeks to pie crust. Then, in the same skillet, over medium heat, cook the asparagus and peas approximately 5-6 minutes; add to pie crust, reserving a few pieces for topping. Lastly, sauté ham and add to pie pan, keeping a few pieces aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, heavy cream, milk, cream cheese (microwave for 10 seconds to soften if needed), salt, pepper and nutmeg and mix thoroughly. Pour egg mixture over ham & veggies, top with reserved ham, asparagus and peas, and carefully transfer to the oven.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the center no longer jiggles when jostled lightly. If you prefer to use a thermometer, cook to an internal center temperature of 170° F.
Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting. Garnish with springtime herbs such as chopped parsley and chives.