Weekend Foodie: An elegant quiche with tasty buns for the Easter weekend
Dianne says this quiche looks and tastes elegant and makes a great lunch dish over the long weekend.
Mid-April sees the first of the homegrown asparagus spears come onto the market. These treasures are in very short supply, grown only on a small scale by some local growers. If you have a good farmer’s market nearby, you may be lucky enough to find Irish asparagus on sale this weekend. It’s not cheap, at around €7.00 a bunch, but it is a real seasonal treat that comes and goes in an instant.
I’m using fresh asparagus this weekend in an old favourite quiche from the archives. If you can’t find homegrown asparagus, you’ll find imported fresh asparagus spears easily in most supermarkets. This quiche is rich with fresh free-range eggs and feta cheese, as the asparagus spears line up neatly on top. It looks and tastes elegant and makes a great lunch dish over the long weekend.
While you’ve got the oven on, why not have a go at making your own Hot Cross Buns? These seasonal treats are in the shops only around Easter time, but I could eat them till the cows come home! Nothing I love better than a toasted Hot Cross Bun with butter melting on top. And surprisingly, they go very well spread with cream cheese or topped with melted cheese too - something about the sweet spiciness of the buns and savouriness of a mature cheddar that works a treat!
- 175g plain flour
- 100g chilled butter, in cubes
- 1 egg
- Small bunch of asparagus, stalks trimmed
- Knob of butter and splash of olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 25g Feta cheese
- 3 eggs
- 250mls milk
- 25g mature cheddar, grated, plus extra to finish
Method
- Whizz pastry ingredients in a processor to form a ball. Wrap and chill for 15 minutes or until firm enough to roll out.
- Roll out pastry on a lightly floured board. Use to line a lightly oiled non-stick loose-bottomed 20cm flan tin, carefully pressing the pastry into the sides of the tin. Trim the excess by rolling over the top with a rolling pin. Don't worry if the pastry tears or cracks, just patch it up with bits from the excess.
- Prick the base of the pastry with a fork.
- Line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake blind in a pre-heated oven gas 5 375 F 190C (180C fan assisted) until the pastry case is firm and beginning to crisp.
- Remove parchment and baking beans and cool the tart case.
- Meanwhile, steam the asparagus till just tender. Transfer to a plate, season and cool.
- Arrange the cooled asparagus in the base of the pastry case. Crumble the feta around.
- Beat eggs with milk. Add cheese and season.
- Pour into the pastry case. Return to oven for 20 minutes or until the custard is golden and set but still a little soft.
- Serve scattered with extra-grated cheddar. Great warm or cold.
- 275mls milk
- 500g white strong bread flour
- Good pinch of salt
- 50g butter, in cubes
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- Grating of fresh nutmeg
- 50g caster sugar
- 7g sachet fast-acting yeast
- 50g sultanas
- 50g candied mixed peel
- Finely grated zest of a lemon
- Medium free-range egg, beaten
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- Water to mix
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- Lemon juice
Method
- Heat the milk to just under boiling, then leave to cool to tepid.
- Place flour and salt in a mixing bowl or use a food mixer with a dough hook.
- Rub in the butter to resemble breadcrumbs.
- Add spices, sugar, yeast, fruit, peel and lemon zest and stir to combine evenly.
- Make a well in the centre and add the beaten egg with a little of the tepid milk.
- Start to bring the flour into the liquid to make the dough.
- Gradually add the remaining milk, bringing the mix together to form a soft dough.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for ten minutes or until the dough is stretchy and elastic and bounces back when you poke it.
- Place in a lightly greased and floured warm bowl and cover with a tea towel.
- Leave in a warm place for about an hour or until risen to double in size.
- Turn out onto a floured board and knock back lightly.
- Divide into twelve equal portions and roll into balls.
- Place balls on a parchment-lined baking tray and flatten the tops lightly.
- Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise again for about 40 minutes or until double in size.
- While the buns are rising, make a thick paste with remaining flour and water and place in a piping bag with small nozzle.
- When the buns are ready to bake, pipe crosses on top.
- Place in a pre-heated oven Gas 6 400F 200C for about 20 minutes or until golden and they sound slightly hollow when the bases are tapped.
- Before the buns come out of the oven, gently heat the golden syrup with the lemon juice.
- Brush the glaze over the hot buns straight from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Split and serve with butter.
Asparagus served on its own is often matched with the crispness of a bone-dry Sauvignon Blanc wine, which sometimes carries a faint whiff of asparagus on its aroma. However, because this quiche is heavily cheese-based and has rich buttery pastry, I’m opting for a medium-bodied red which will handle the more robust flavours. From the Languedoc region of southern France comes La Croisade Reserve Pinot Noir, a red wine that will work with this quiche very well. Pinot Noir is a grape known for producing elegant wines which have generous fruit with a balanced edge and this one provides all that. Lots of summer strawberries and raspberries in the glass, but also some elegant, clean notes on the finish. On offer this weekend at Supervalu stores at the great price of just €8.99, down from €17.99 till 30/05/25. A wowser wine!
Butter 454g: €3.79
Free range eggs half dozen: €1.95
Asparagus bunch (imported): €2.19
Feta 200g: €1.49
Mature cheddar 200g: €1.79
Strong white flour 2kg: €4.39
Mixed spice 34g .79c
Fast Acting Yeast 8 sachets: €5.15
Mixed Peel 200g: €1.05
Sultanas 375g: €1.79
Lemon x 3pce net: €1.45
Golden syrup 454g: €2.49
App?
