Asparagus may be a few weeks away still here in the DC/NoVA area, but Diane’s new “Friday Foodie Fix” event with the secret ingredient eggs seemed like the perfect reason to pull this recipe out of the archives. Perfect for a spring Sunday morning…

Recipe: Spring Asparagus-Chive Quiche

Ingredients:

• 1 9-inch pie crust 
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk (next time I may use half cream as my quiche was a little softer than should be)
• 1 cup crumbled Keswick* Wallaby cheese, or other Monterey Jack or similar white cheese (goat cheese would also be fabulous)
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-2? pieces
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• salt + pepper

Instructions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch asparagus for 2 minutes; drain and rinse in cold water. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk/cream, cheese, and a dash of salt and pepper. Spread asparagus and chives in pie shell, and pour egg mixture over. Bake at 425* for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300* and bake additional 30-35 minutes or until firm. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

The toddler devoured this (”cheese egg? more!”) but still ate around the asparagus, so the quest goes on for a kid-friendly asparagus dish. (Maybe I’ll just puree it next time!)

* Farm Source(s): Keswick Creamery’s Wallaby cheese is available at the Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market and the new La Fromagerie in Old Town Alexandria.

(Originally published May 27, 2008.)

I thought up this dish after reading about this week’s Root Source Challenge subject, chives, and thinking about how to use all the veggies I bought at market last weekend. But the recipe, improvised on the fly while the husband and I took turns doing prep work in between reading to, holding (”up! up!”) and pouring “more Os!” for the toddler, needs a little more work. (The oh-so-helpful toddler also said, “No No NO” upon seeing the food processor. He still has an on-again off-again terror of it.) So instead I’ll just post the pictures and a general idea of what I’ll do next time, and if anyone attempts it I’d love to hear how it goes.

Recipe: Carrot-Chive Pesto Pasta

Mix up one batch of pesto using 2 garlic scapes (or garlic cloves), 1 bunch of chives, olive oil, parmigiano cheese and your choice of nuts (didn’t use them this time, but I’m thinking either almonds or pecans next time). Steam one bunch of peeled, sliced baby carrots. Puree half and mix into the pesto, then toss with remaining carrots and pasta of your choice. Top with chive blossoms if you have them. Not sure if that qualifies as a sufficient recipe for Presto Pasta Nights, but what the heck.

Oh and the toddler? Wouldn’t touch it. But he had filled up on Cheerios by the time it was ready.