Springtime Quiche

I am pleased to report that almost everything in this early spring quiche was grown in the front yard, purchased at the farmers market (and therefore grown in someone else's yard) or found in the local undisclosed woods. We made it last week and it was an awesome picnic dinner while mushrooming!

Vegetable and Cheddar Quiche
modified from from the cooks garden by Ellen Ecker Ogden
makes 6 servings

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
12 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/3 cup ice water, as needed

Filling:
1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh sage
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
pinch of salt
grind of black pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter
10-15 stalks asparagus, finely chopped
1 medium leek, white and light green parts sliced
6-8 morel mushrooms, roughly chopped
10-12 stalks swiss chard, thinly shredded*

Make Crust:

Process flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Cut the butter in with the pulse function until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal. With the machine running, gradually add water until the dough holds together. Gather the dough into a ball and refrigerate 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375F. Roll crust into an 11- to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch spring form pan (or pie plate). Prick the dough in several places with a fork. Line the dough with aluminum foil and pie beans. Bake until the dough looks set but not browned, about 12 minutes. Remove foil and beans and let crust stand until ready to fill. Sprinkle cheddar cheese evenly onto the bottom of the crust while it is still warm.

Make Filling:

Saute leeks, mushrooms, and asparagus in butter until leeks are soft and just starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Steam swiss chard until cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze as much water as possible from the chard. Add vegetables to the crust, on top of the cheese.

Whisk the milk, eggs, thyme, sage, salt and pepper until combined. Pour mixture over the vegetables in the crust and top with parsley.

Bake until a knife inserted in the center of the filling comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving warm.

*Notes:
I think the absolute key to eating swiss chard is chopping it into thin slices. Before cooking, I shredded the chard into 1/4 inch slices, like when shredding cabbage for cole slaw. And then I cut those slices in half so they weren't too long.