Asparagus Quiche

Somebody goofed at the market this week and we ended up with three dozen eggs in our refrigerator. So to use up some of the surplus I decided to make a fave quiche dish. I mean how many Easter eggs can I possibly make?

I'm kind of crazy about asparagus this time of year, so in that went as well as carmelized onions and topped with tomato slices. I prefer to make my dough, but for those in a hurry, a prepared crust will do. We've been eating a lot of seafood and fish in particular these past weeks, so this was a nice change. Served with a side of Spring greens-- an easy meal for those who are running late as I've been most of these past weeks. Farmers markets begins next week, so between this and working the gardens, I've been doing a lot of scrambling here, preparing meals that can be made in a jiff.



Asparagus Quiche

1 1/2 cups onions, sliced
1 medium leek, sliced
1/2 cup asparagus-cut into 1 inch pieces
1 TBLS olive oil
1 TBLS unsalted butter
fresh thyme, sea salt & ground pepper
3/4 cup swiss cheese, sliced thin
3 large tomatoes, sliced thin
1/3 cup light cream
1/3 cup milk
2 large eggs
fresh parsley, minced
3 or 4 shakes of ground nutmeg
2 TBLS grated Piave or Parmesan cheese

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup cold butter, cubed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 – 1/2 cup cold water


In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and 1 tsp sugar until well mixed. Add the butter using pulses until you no longer see chunks of butter in the dough. Use pulses to get the dough to mix together correctly, it does a better job of breaking up the butter than just letting the machine run.

Slowly add the cold water a tablespoon at a time while pulsing the dough until it is evenly distributed and it begins to look like little peas. You may not need to use all the water, and you do not want the dough to be too wet – it should not be sticky, but should hold together, barely.

Remove the dough from the food processor and knead for a few minutes until it begins to smooth out. Don't over-knead the dough, you just want it to come together and smooth out a little bit, it should really only take a couple of minutes. Divide the dough in half, flatten into discs, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

Meanwhile, slice the onions and saute them in 1 TBL olive oil with 1 TBLS butter until lightly browned. Sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over the onions, stir and set aside covered to cool. Slice leek and cut asparagus into one inch pieces. Toss them into the cooling onions and cover.

Remove dough from refrigerator ten minutes before you begin to roll out your dough, on a lightly floured board. Line a tart mold, and prick the bottom with a fork. Next, thinly slice the Swiss cheese and spread it over the dough. Now cover the cheese with your onion/asparagus/leek mixture. Top with tomato slices. Lightly beat the eggs with the cream, milk and grated Piave. Season with sea salt, ground pepper, chopped parsley and nutmeg. Evenly pour this mixture over the quiche. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. I serve this warm, but not hot. Enjoy!

Maple Syrup Scallops

When Sugar Maple trees sprout buckets here in New England, it can only mean one thing--it's maple sugaring season.

The New England tradition of boiling sap to make maple syrup and sugar originated with the region's Native American population. Today, New England continues to produce some of the sweetest syrup and maple products on the market. The maple sugaring season only lasts about four to six weeks, from mid-February through late March when days turn warm, nights remain cold, and the sap starts to flow.

So when my good friend Tracy graced me with some of their own freshly tapped amber maple syrup, I decided to try this recipe I clipped out from a reader of our newspaper a few weeks back. The results--awesome! We just love scallops, but I just couldn't get past the 'sweet' portion of this recipe. My usual way to prepare them is seared, baked or fried. These tender scallops were nothing short of amazing. The maple syrup thickened and penetrated the briney-sweet scallops, making them a perfect foil for the side salad that was served and the panko crumbs gave a nice crunch to the dish and a perfect texture with the maple sauce.

I'm so glad I tried this recipe, because it will be made over and over again. Thanks for sharing this with us Anita. If your a scallops lover, I hope you'll enjoy this recipe also. Enjoy!





Anita's Maple Syrup Scallops

1 pound sea scallops (make sure you buy them dry and not wet, as wet have been soaked in water and will not brown as readily in the pan.

3/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp. cracked black pepper

1/8 cup olive oil (not extra virgin, as it will smoke)

½ cup panko breadcrumbs



Remove scallops from fridge and pat them dry between two paper towels. Place scallops in Tupperware bowl with lid. Add maple syrup, black pepper and pinch of salt. Cover and shake, then refrigerate. Let marinate two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a small casserole dish or gratin dish with cooking spray.

Preheat olive oil in a large saute pan. When oil is shimmery, add scallops and saute until sauce begins to thicken and scallops start to brown, no more than 3-5 minutes.

Pour scallops and pan sauce into gratin and cover with panko crumbs. Bake uncovered for 5-7 minutes until the panko crumbs are browned. Serve immediately.