This savoury ham and asparagus quiche is perfect as a light meal. The combination of the salty flavour of the cured ham, the earthiness of the asparagus and the taste of the cheese create a great balance in this quiche recipe.
A quiche is a very versatile dish to make for various occasions. It can either be served as a light meal during lunch, as part of a brunch buffet, or as a small appetizer at a dinner party when cut into small portions. Additionally, a quiche can contain so many different fillings, ranging from various vegetables, meats and fish combinations. What I most like about a quiche is that it can easily be made in advance and just warmed up when ready to serve.
I love a good flavoured quiche recipe and this combination of the earthy asparagus and the salty ham is just perfect with the smooth texture and mild flavour of the egg custard filling. A pinch of nutmeg brings a warm touch and some dried herbs like basil, oregano and majoram provide for some Mediterranean flavours to finish off the delicious taste of the ham and asparagus in the quiche.
Ham and asparagus quiche ingredients
Note: All the exact quantities of the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Pie crust: I like to use a buttery, flaky puff pastry as the base of a quiche. And since I am not a baking wizard, I buy a ready made puff pastry dough either from the supermarket or the local bakery.
- Asparagus: For this quiche recipe it’s best to use fresh asparagus spears to get the delicious earthy flavour. You could use canned asparagus as an alternative, but the texture will be rather soft and soggy and the taste will be bland. So I do recommend to find some fresh asparagus and your quiche will taste so much better.
- Ham: I used a cured and aged ham for this asparagus and ham quiche. You could use any cured ham, like Spanish Serrano ham, Italian Parma ham (prosciutto) or German Black Forest ham. The paper thin slices are nice to garnish evenly into the quiche and the taste is so flavourful and delicate. In some countries, this ham can be very expensive, so you can use finely diced cooked ham as an alternative.
- Cheese: The cheese on top of the quiche should be nicely melted and slightly browned when coming out of the oven, so use a cheese like Cheddar, Gruyere or Emmental.
- Egg custard: The egg custard is what brings the quiche together. It’s a mixture of eggs and cream and it’s important to have the correct quantity ratio of eggs and cream in order to have the right texture of the custard and to make sure the custard will set. The pie pan I used for this recipes and for which the ingredient quantities will work is 23 cm (or 9 inches) in diameter from the inside of the pan and 3 cm height (1 3/16 inches).
How to store the asparagus and ham quiche
In the refrigerator: This quiche can be stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Cover the quiche before putting it in the fridge. I would personally not keep it for longer than 2 days in the fridge. If you won’t eat everything within 2 days I would recommend freezing it.
In the freezer: Leftover quiche is easy to keep frozen for up to 2 months. Make sure the quiche is completely cooled down, then wrap it in tin foil and place in a freezer bag. I advise to already portion the quiche before freezing and wrap the portions separately. It’s so much easier if you just want to defrost part of the quiche.
What to serve with quiche?
A quiche can be served either warm or cold. However, it does taste much better when served warm and the pastry is nice and crispy. Usually a pie of quiche is served as a light meal, either during lunch or brunch. It can perfectly be eaten without any additional side dishes.
On the other hand, a quiche presents even better with a salad to the side. This can be either a green garden salad, a tomato salad or any other light and small side salad dish. Consider using a light salad dressing to balance out the rich and strong flavours of the quiche with asparagus and ham.
Frequently asked questions & tips
Before adding the asparagus to the quiche for baking, they should be either cooked or steamed for a few minutes to soften them. It’s important to let them cool down before using and to make sure all the cooking water is drained properly. If they still contain too much water, the egg custard will become too watery and will not set properly.
A quiche is ready when the egg custard is firm and set and the pie crust is golden brown. However, the centre of the egg custard should still have a bit of a wobble, so it means it’s nice and creamy. Just jiggle the quiche a bit and see if it still has a bit of a wobble in the middle, then your quiche will be fine.
I would not recommend to reheat a quiche in the microwave oven, since the pastry will become soggy and not very nice to eat. It is best to reheat the asparagus quiche in the oven. Place the cold quiche on a baking tray in a preheated oven (175°C / 350°F) and bake for a few minutes until the quiche is warm inside and the crust is crispy again.
Place the frozen quiche in a cold oven, then set it to 175°C (or 350°F). That way, the quiche has time to slowly defrost and get crispy again, without burning. The quiche is ready to eat when the inside is fully defrosted and the pastry is crispy again (test a small piece of it) unless you like eating half frozen quiche.
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Ham and Asparagus Quiche
Ingredients
- 300 g (10 ounces) fresh green asparagus spears
- 3 eggs
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) cream
- 1 packet puff pastry or flaky pie pastry
- 6 slices cured ham Serrano ham or Parma ham
- 1 cup grated cheese Cheddar, Gruyere or Emmental.
- salt
- freshly ground pepper
- dried herbs mix Mix dried oregano, basil and majoram
- ground nutmeg a pinch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).Wash the asparagus and cut off the hard end at the bottom. Cut the spears into chunks of 4 cm (or 1,5 inch). Take a pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the water and let the asparagus cool down.
- Press the pie crust into a greased quiche pan or put baking paper instead of greasing the pan. Take a fork and poke the crust all around. Arrange the asparagus cuts evenly on the pie. Cut the ham slices in half and arrange them around the asparagus.
- Take a bowl and whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, pepper, pinch of nutmeg and dried herbs. Pour over the ham and asparagus in the quiche pan. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the mixture.
- Put the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the centre of the quiche is just set and firm. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
- If you have no cured ham, you can use cooked ham. Use 200 g (or 7 ounces) of finely diced cooked ham.
- This quiche can either be served cold out of the fridge or hot out of the oven (just let it cool off a bit before serving).
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