Smoked Salmon & Asparagus Quiche

This Smoked Salmon Asparagus Quiche is simple yet elegant, and it makes a great breakfast, lunch, or even dinner! Easter is coming up and Spring is in the air and this grain-free, gluten-free, paleo quiche makes the perfect accompaniment to your Easter Brunch or Spring lunch spread! I love the addition of two types of cheese in this quiche, it makes it really decadent! Smoked salmon is a pretty special treat in this quiche and asparagus gets perfectly roasted while the quiche bakes.

Pie Crust

Hands up if you find pie crust to be a scary, daunting thing to make. My mum has made pie crust from scratch forever and makes it look soooo easy! For many people, pastry-making is a complicated, scary thing. But, this paleo crust is super duper easy! You can make this dough in a food processor or just in a bowl with your fingers. You’ll notice that this dough is wetter than traditional pie dough, but when it bakes up, it turns into a flakey, crumbly pastry. The two tricks to this pastry are: let it chill out after it’s made and don’t be afraid of using extra tapioca or arrowroot starch when you’re putting it into your pie plate. Since this dough is stickier than traditional dough, when your wrapping it up in a beeswax wrap and spreading it our with your fingers and a measuring cup, use arrowroot starch to prevent sticking.

I also highly recommend a pie plate with a removable bottom to help you slice this beautiful quiche. I’ve linked the one I have below!

Cheese please!

This recipe uses a blend of grated cheddar cheese and mozzarella, the mozzarella gives stretch to the quiche and the cheddar adds flavour. Other options for cheese are goat cheese and feta which would both be totally delicious! You can replace 1/2 cup of cheddar with feta or goat cheese. If you are looking to make this filling dairy-free, you can use vegan cheese shreds or use cashew cheese. Simply scatter cashew cheese around the top of the quiche before topping with asparagus

Smoked Salmon Asparagus Quiche

Author: Elizabeth
Servings: one 9-inch quiche

Ingredients
Crust
1/4 cup cold butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup tapioca or arrowroot starch
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Filling
7 eggs
2/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese
2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy)
1/3 cup smoked salmon, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8-10 asparagus spears

Instructions:
Crust
Method One - Food Processor: Cube your butter into 1/2 inch pieces. Place your cold, cubed butter flours, and salt in the food processor container. Pulse until butter is about the size of peas. Add your egg and pulse until the dough forms a ball around the blade. Shape dough into an inch-thick disc, wrap in beeswax wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 12 hours.

Method Two - By Hand: Grate your cold butter on the coarse side of a box grater. Add the grated butter, flours and salt to a bowl. Using your fingers, pinch and rub the flour/butter mixture together until it the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Add the egg and combine with a spoon until you reach an evenly blended dough that sticks together. Shape dough into an inch-thick disc, wrap in beeswax wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 12 hours.

1. Once your dough is chilled, remove from fridge. Preheat your oven to 350F . Place your dough in a pie plate and use your fingers to spread the dough along the bottom and sides of the dish. Use a flat bottomed glass or measuring cup to even it out and press the dough into the sides of the plate. Prick the dough with a fork.
2. Place a piece of parchment paper on your unbaked pie shell and fill it with pie weights or dried beans/lentils. Bake for 25 minutes with pie weights. Remove pie weights/beans and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes uncovered until slightly golden brown. Leave your oven on!

Filling
1. In a medium sized bowl, combine eggs and milk. Whisk together. Add grated cheese, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine.
2. Pour your egg mixture into your parbaked pie shell. Scatter the chopped smoked salmon around the quiche. Top with trimmed asparagus spears.
3. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the eggs are cooked through, the top is golden brown, and the mixture has puffed up.
4. Let cool 5-10 minutes, slice into wedges, and serve with a big green salad. Enjoy!