Asparagus and Bacon Quiche
·Coarse breadcrumb texture
Put the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a large bowl. Work quickly so the butter warms up as little as possible. In no time you'll have rubbed the ingredients into something like coarse breadcrumbs. The dough isn't fully combined yet at this stage.
A sticky ball in the freezer
Now add the water, but only about half of the amount you've measured out to start with. Work the mixture into a smooth dough that holds together nicely without being sticky. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in plastic film and leave it in the freezer for about an hour.
Roll it out
After an hour, take the dough out and roll it out on a floured surface. Get your tart tin ready – either a springform tart tin or a shallow ceramic dish will do, whichever you prefer. Aim for a diameter of about 24–26 cm.
Transfer to the tin
Lightly grease the tin with butter and transfer the rolled-out dough into it. It should line not just the base but also come up high along the sides, so the filling doesn't leak out. Prick the base all over with a fork, lay a sheet of baking paper on top and fill it with baking beans.
Bake
Bake for about 10 minutes at 200°C. After this time, remove the baking paper and beans from the pastry case and bake for a further 5 minutes or so. Take it out of the oven and let it cool. The base is now ready to be filled.
Prepare the filling ingredients
Finely chop the onion. Cut the bacon into small cubes. Trim the asparagus, simply cutting off the dried-out end of the stalks.
Fry
Melt a knob of butter in a large frying pan and fry the onion and bacon until crisp. When they're almost done, add the asparagus stalks for a moment, just lightly browning them on all sides.
Cream and egg mixture
Mix the cream with the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add the finely grated cheese and pour this mixture over the pastry base.
Asparagus pieces
Arrange the pieces of asparagus over the quiche – they'll sink nicely into the cream and egg mixture. Finish it all off by scattering the onion and bacon mixture over the filling. Again, everything will settle nicely into the filling.
Bake and serve
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 190°C for 35–40 minutes. The surface of the quiche will set and turn golden. Let it cool a little before slicing, as it's tricky to cut while hot. Serve with a dollop of seasoned soured cream and a salad, or simply on its own.
