Asparagus, Mushroom and Artichoke Quiche

Tonight’s dinner was the delicious result of trying to get rid of the seemingly massive amounts of fresh vegetables clogging our fridge.  You see, my husband loves to shop.  When he does, he buys lots of fruit, lots of vegetables, lots of yogurt, and jams it all into the fridge.  He never has anything particular in mind for these purchases, mind you, he just figures that I’ll “come up with something” to justify his many bargains.  Not a lover of fruit – I’ll take a green bean over an apple any day -- I do tend to use up all of the vegetables.  Here is the result of my latest endeavor.

Asparagus, Mushroom and Artichoke Quiche

1 tablespoon butter

6 ounces button mushrooms, sliced

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 bunch (1 pound) asparagus, tough ends removed, thinly sliced on the diagonal (save some whole spears to decorate the top, if desired)

½ can artichoke hearts, thoroughly drained and quartered

2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese (8 ounces), divided

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups half-and-half

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1 deep dish pie shell

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat and sauté mushrooms until tender.  Remove from heat and allow to cool. 

Place pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet.  Once the mushrooms have cooled, place them in the bottom of the deep-dish pie crust, and top with a third of the shredded cheese.  Place artichokes on top of the cheese and press down lightly.  In the same skillet that you used for the mushrooms, sauté asparagus until tender crisp, about 6-8 minutes; season with salt and pepper.  Allow to cool. Layer cooled asparagus on top of the mushroom-cheese-artichoke-cheese mixture and top with last of the cheese.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, ¼ teaspoon salt (more or less to taste), gratings of freshly ground pepper to taste, and nutmeg.  Carefully pour egg mixture over the top of the vegetables and cheese.

Bake until center of quiche is set and golden, 50 to 60 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

This post is linked to:

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday