Herb, Parma Ham, and Mascarpone Quiche
On Easter morning, quiche is less of a dish and more of a gesture: warm, generous, and full of promise. This one, with its roots in the Italian countryside, folds in spring onions, fresh chervil, mascarpone and prosciutto. Each slice is a little celebration of spring - eggs from the market, the scent of herbs still clinging to your fingers, a table bathed in sunlight. It’s not fussy or showy, just quietly stunning - the kind of thing that makes you pause mid-bite and smile.
Ingredients
1kg asparagus, peeled and cut into 6-8 cm lengths
140g of Parma ham, regular ham or prosciutto
1 bunch of chervil, chopped, if you can't find replace for another herb you love!
1 bunch of chives, chopped
100g of spring onions, chopped
350g of mascarpone
2 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch of black pepper
For the pastry:
400g of plain flour, plus extra for dusting
200g of butter, cold and diced, plus extra for greasing
1 good pinch of salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk, for brushing the pastry
Ice cold water
Directions
Place the flour into a bowl with the salt and the diced butter. Transfer into a food mixer / processor set to a low setting and mix until like fine breadcrumbs – about 1 minute. You can also rub the mixture between your thumb and forefinger until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the egg and then add the iced water, little by little, until the dough comes together (it should not be too dry, otherwise it will just crumble when you roll it out). Place the dough in plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge to rest for 30 minutes
When the dough is ready to roll out, preheat the oven to 350 F, and grease and flour your quiche tin. Roll out the pastry to a 0.5cm thickness and lay it into the tin. Line the pastry with a sheet of foil and fill with baking beans or pie weights.
Blind bake the pastry with the baking beans in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the pastry achieves a light golden colour. Remove the baking beans and foil, and brush the base of the tart case with egg yolk. Bake for a further 5 minutes, then remove from the oven. Allow the pastry to cool while you make the filling
Reduce oven to 320 F
Blanch the asparagus in boiling salted water for 3 minutes and then refresh in iced water for two minutes. Drain and dry well
Mix the chervil, chives, mascarpone, spring onion, eggs, egg yolks, salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside
Lay the asparagus spears in the cooled pastry tart, pointing outwards in a circular pattern, then lay the ham in between the asparagus. Pour on the chervil and mascarpone mix
Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes, until it is light brown and firm to touch in the center. Allow to cool to room temperature, slice and then serve.
