This recipe came from Susan Adams, social worker and long time friend. Her son Luke and Jimmy played together as toddlers, so we have those special shared memories and photographs that mothers cherish. This quiche has special meaning for her….
“After my Mom died 6 years ago I was cleaning out her apartment and found a quiche crust she had made in the freezer, and the ingredients for this recipe in her cupboard. My sister said Mom had planned to have friends over for her 85th birthday at my sister’s house and that was to be part of the menu. So I finished the recipe and we ate a meal together that our Mom had partly made before she died. I am starting to cry as I am typing this….”
I updated her recipe a bit with fresh asparagus…I remember her exuberance and hearty laughter, and know she wouldn’t mind.
3/4 pound fresh asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 unbaked pastry shell ( 9 or 10 inches)
2 Tbs. shallots, minced
1 Tbs. butter
1 cup crab meat
1 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese ( I used half Gruyere)
1 Tbs. flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 tsp. salt
3 drops hot pepper sauce
2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
8 fresh asparagus spears for garnish
Saute shallots in butter until tender, about 2 minutes. Mix with crab meat and flour; set aside.
Place cut asparagus into a large saucepan of boiling water and cook until crisp tender. Drain well and pat dry. Arrange cooked asparagus over bottom of pastry shell. Top with crab mixture. Sprinkle grated Swiss cheese over crab.
In a small bowl, whisk eggs, cream, salt and hot pepper sauce. Pour into pastry. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Arrange fresh asparagus spears, spoke fashion, on top of quiche.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Serves 6
Note: I bought all my ingredients at Trader Joes, including frozen pie dough which I thought was delicious and easy to work with. There is excellent refrigerated canned crab these days at a reasonable price. I think this would serve 6 for lunch but 4 for dinner. Another idea would be to top the quiche with sliced tomatoes (see our recipe for Fresh Corn Quiche).
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, my! This looks divine!! Do you use fresh crab or can canned be used?I’ve never seen crustless quiche before, but I agree with your depiction–it’s just a vessel for carrying the GOOD stuff :).I’m gonna have to make this and invite over the girls; I’m afraid no one in my house would like it…and goodness knows I couldn’t eat the whole thing…could I?:)
This looks wonderful, and I will definately be buying the ingredients the next time I’m at the store. You could probably use the basic ingredients and then make any quiche you wanted, right? Lorraine, spinach, etc.Can’t wait to try it!