Finally it is warm in Austria. Spring has been so cold and rainy this year. So, today, I have been working in garden the whole day.Digging and weeding. I mowed the lawn, sprayed the weeds with vinegar soap mixture to kill them,cleaned vegetable garden and planted some flower bulbs which I have been saving since Christmas time. Yeah I know, sounds crazy, but why throw away all those narcissus,hyacinth and tulip bulbs which came with all those spring and christmas flower baskets? Better to dig them in the soil and enjoy them next spring again!     My herb garden is a mess..Pepper mist is taking over everything and it is really hard to control. Herb garden is nothing but mint right now..   Potatoes are coming along very well.I am still having hopes to enjoy these on 21st of June when it is Juhannus (summer solstice).     I needed fast lunch and this kind of hit the spot! Asparagus Quiche with Jamon Serrano and cold Weizenbier.You know that it is important to stay hydrated when it is hot! 😉     I did the Quiche already yesterday, so all I needed to do was to heat it up and go to vegetable garden to pick some salad and radishes.  

So the Quiche. I had some asparagus still left from the weekend and some other ingredients that I had to use away. I love savoury pies, all kind of.. This is simple and fast recipe.If you don’t want to make your own dough, ready-made is fine too.

For the pastry

• 200g spelt flour, plus extra for dusting

• salt

• 150g butter, plus extra for greasing

I made double amount because I was using 22cm cake springform for baking, because I wanted thick Quiche. I did put some baking paper inside of the form, so that Quiche would not stick on the form when removing it.

For the filling

1. To make the pastry, sift the flour together with a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until you have a soft breadcrumb texture. Add enough cold water to make the crumb mixture come together to form a firm dough, and then rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and line a 22cm well-buttered flan dish or springform. Don’t cut off the edges of the pastry yet. Chill again.
3. Preheat the oven to 190C.
4. Remove the pastry case from the fridge and line the base of the pastry with baking parchment and then fill it with baking beans. Place on a baking tray and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and return to the oven for another five minutes to cook the base
5. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 160C.
6. On the pastry base sprinkle the cleaned peeled and sliced asparagus,onion and some shredded Jamon Serrano ham (honestly you can skip it too or use something else). Sprinkle the mini mozzarellas on top.
7. Combine the eggs with the mascarpone cheese in a bowl and season well.Stir well until everything is smooth. Pour over the asparagus and ham. Trim the edges of the pastry.
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool and set further.
9. If you like need look,trim the pastry edges to get a perfect edge and then serve in wedges. I leave edges because I like the rustic look more.

  Do be shy to try different kind of fillings.Be experimental and make this Quiche yours!