Asparagus and Salmon Quiche

Method

1. Make the pastry. In a bowl combine the ingredients and work with your fingers until it comes together. Add more water if necessary. Avoid making the dough too wet and sticky. Knead lightly for a couple of minutes until smooth. Form into a ball and wrap in cling film. Put into the fridge to rest for 1 hour. After an hour, put the pastry out on a floured surface and roll-out evenly to a thickness of about 3mm. Line a 23cm flan case and trim off the excess. Prod the base with a fork and put back in the fridge for half an hour. Preheat the oven to 180C, Gas 4. Scrunch greaseproof paper and cover the pastry roughly. Fill the paper with baking beans and work them evenly over the base. Trim off the excess paper and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake again for 10 minutes. Take from the oven and brush the base with a beaten egg. Bake again for 5 minutes and leave to one side to cool whilst making the filling.
2. Make the filling. Break the asparagus stem by holding the base and top of the spear. The base will be woody and can be discarded (or used to make asparagus stock for cooking the asparagus). Measure the asparagus from the centre to the edge of the flan dish. Trim off the excess asparagus piece and chop it into 5cm chunks. Put all the asparagus into a pan of boiling water and cook until the base is just tender. (If you like, cook the asparagus standing up in a small pan so that the stems are cooked first…). Drain the asparagus and cool. Chop the shallots into a fine dice and cook in a pan on medium heat with a tablespoon of olive oil or butter until soft and translucent. Skin and chop the salmon into small chunks, add to the pan and cook on low heat until the salmon is evenly opaque but not cooked all the way through. Take off the heat to cool.
3. Finish the filling and bake the quiche. Whisk the eggs and the cream in a bowl. Add the chopped, cooled asparagus bases and salmon and shallots. Season with a pinch of salt and grindings of pepper. Pour the filling into the flan case. Arrange the asparagus on top of the mixture as if the spokes of a wheel. Put the quiche in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until set solid throughout.
4. Serve. Cool the quiche to just a little higher than room temperature. Remove from the tin and cut. Serve with a mixed salad.