Quiches are a quick fix for lunch, supper or brunch, easily created with whatever is in the fridge. This Wild Asparagus, Feta and Thyme quiche is inspired by the Quiche Caitlin recipe from Maman Café’s cookbook, The Cookbook. Maman, founded by Elisa Marshall and Ben Sormonte, is a small slice of French café heaven in the centre of New York. I plan to slowly cook my way through all their divine sweet cake and tart recipes😁

Wild or Cultivated Asparagus

In The Cookbook, Maman uses cultivated asparagus – of course, as there is not a lot of wild asparagus growing in the centre of New York. Asparagus is prohibitively expensive in Greece and difficult to source locally, so it had to be the wild variety. In many parts of Europe, rather like the sites of porcini mushrooms, foragers are fiercely protective of their wild asparagus sites. Luckily for me, even though it was coming to an end, I managed to find a big handful just below the house. Wild Asparagus is very delicate and slim and quite a fiddle to eat, so adding it to quiche is a beautiful way to enjoy it. Hopefully, you can buy it locally!

The all-important homemade shortcrust pastry

When making quiche, you must make your own shortcrust. It is a zillion times tastier than anything you can buy. Make it in the food processor or by hand. Rub the flour and butter together and add the egg yolk and iced water until it just comes together. The secret is cold butter, iced water, minimum handling and a minimum resting time of 30 minutes. The pastry likes to ‘relax’. Before rolling it out, bring it back to room temperature and blind bake to rule out any soggy bottoms. It takes a little time, but the actual ‘creation’ takes minutes. Make a double batch, freezing half for next time.

For my wild asparagus quiche, I used half cream, half yoghurt, and only four eggs. I don’t like the eggs to overpower the general flavour. After that, I used feta, spring onions, nutmeg, and thyme for flavouring.

For more baking ideas, click here or try our Cheesy Leek Tart recipe!