Make Ahead

Asparagus, Leek, and Ricotta Quiche

by:
March 28, 2016
4
9 Ratings
Asparagus, Leek, and Ricotta Quiche
Photo by Mark Weiberg
  • Makes one 9-inch deep dish quiche
Author Notes

The perfect quiche for spring! This recipe enlists help from par-baking, egg wash, and a protective cheese layer to ensure a crisp bottom crust! If you want to, you can reserve some of the asparagus and make an arrangement on top of the other filling—the arrangement should be visible on the surface of the quiche after baking! —Erin Jeanne McDowell

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • egg wash, as needed
  • 1 recipe All Buttah Pie Crust (https://food52.com/recipes...) - mix the butter until it resembles roughly the size of peas
  • 1 cup (not packed) grated Pecornio Romano, divided
  • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 medium leeks, halved and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
  • 8 eggs
  • 1 cup half and half
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425° F, preferably with a pizza stone on the bottom rack. Ready a 9-inch pie plate about 2 1/2 - 3 inches deep (if your pie plate isn't this deep, you can reduce the custard by 1/3-1/2).
  2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4- to 1/8-inch thick. Transfer it to a pie plate, and trim the edge so there is only 1/2 inch overhang all around. Chill the dough inside the pie plate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
  3. Fold the excess dough under at the edges, pressing gently to “seal” the dough to the pie plate. Finish the edges as desired. Poke the base of the crust a few times with a fork. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes.
  4. Line the crust with parchment paper and pie weights, then bake (on the pizza stone, if using) until the crust is just beginning to turn golden brown, 10 to 13 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights and continue baking until the base of the crust appears dry, 2 to 3 minutes more. If the crusts puffs up anywhere without the pie weights, pierce the area with a fork to deflate.
  5. Brush the base of the crust with egg wash and return to the oven for 30 seconds-1 minute. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of Pecorino over the base of the crust and return to the oven once more for 3 to 5 minutes. Cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 375° F.
  6. Arrange the asparagus and leeks in an even layer in the crust. Dollop the ricotta evenly around the pie in tablespoon-sized scoops.
  7. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and half and half together to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the custard over the filling. Sprinkle the remaining pecorino over the surface of the custard.
  8. Transfer the quiche to the oven (on the pizza stone, if using). Bake until the crust is golden brown, and the custard appears set at the edges, but is still slightly jiggly in the center, 27 to 33 minutes. Serve the quiche warm, at room temperature, or chilled (let it cool to room temperature before chilling).
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Erin Jeanne McDowell
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

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9 Reviews

Darian
Darian November 6, 2024
To make this a bit more weeknight-friendly, I turned it into a frittata. I sauteed the asparagus and leeks with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I mixed the eggs, half-and-half, and ricotta in a bowl; once the veggies were softened, I added the egg mixture, topped with cheese, and put it in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Delicious.
 
ohrelaxitsmax
ohrelaxitsmax April 6, 2023
Erin, thank you! But the quiche took much longer to cook and came out rather claggy and watery… any thoughts as to why? Should I have softened the veg to remove excess water? When I sliced into the quiche there was a pool of eggy juice that formed in the pie plate even though it was fully cooked.
 
Layna G.
Layna G. April 12, 2020
Cooked the leeks and asparagus beforehand just to soften them up, which I was glad I did. Cut custard in half, and it took about 45 min to fully cook and set, but absolutely delicious.
 
Liz
Liz January 31, 2019
I thought this was excellent! I didnt have asparagus so I used spinach. Loved it. One of the tastiest quiches I be made.
My family devoured it.
 
Mike T.
Mike T. March 3, 2018
Also had trouble with the cooking time, I split it into two pre made whole wheat crusts. After 45-55 minutes at 375 it finally set. The other problem I had was the recommendation to "season to taste" on the eggs. Difficult to do with raw eggs. The quiche turned out good, but was a bit bland due to lack of seasoning.
 
Linden
Linden September 24, 2017
It was a mess. After 45 minutes my quiche was still soup. I followed the directions exactly and baked it in my brand new Bluestar oven. Turning it down to 375 per the recipe to cook the quiche after par baking the crust at 425.
 
Sarah
Sarah April 24, 2016
I made this tonight and it was lovely! The ricotta makes it light and fluffy and the crust is perfectly flaky. I didn't have a single pie tin as deep as the recipe suggests so I split the filling into two 9 inch shallow pie tins instead and that worked perfectly. I also didn't have time to par-bake the crust but it still came out just fine for me. Even with my small changes the quiche was light and airy and really delicious!
 
Two T.
Two T. March 31, 2016
Yum.
 
Cristina S.
Cristina S. March 31, 2016
Yes, please.