Thank God for the weekend. Lately work has kept me so busy that have barely had time for regular everyday life. But rest assured, when I have had some extra time I have been spending it in the kitchen creating delicious dishes with the bounty of spring produce I have been getting from the farmers market. These days the market seems to be a sea of lush green - baby lettuce, fresh herbs, shelling peas, artichokes, asparagus, leeks, spinach - and lucky for us, all those vibrant vegetables are extremely healthy.
So to celebrate spring (and that wonderful fleeting time known as the weekend), I decided to whip up an easy Spring Quiche. I decided to go sans crust to make it lighter and more airy, and also take out some of the work. But most importantly, since I was focusing on using in-season, fresh produce, I wanted to make the most of the ingredients. I used asparagus, green garlic, leeks, dill, Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese, and free-range brown eggs. All the components harmonized perfectly, with the farmers market vegetables accented by the exceptional Humboldt Fog.
Since this quiche is all about components, lets talk ingredients.
Asparagus. In most areas in the U.S., you can get asparagus year-round, but fresh, springtime asparagus is markedly different. Asparagus always has bright green color with beautiful purple tips, but the major difference is in the texture and taste - the younger shoots of asparagus are sweeter, and more grassy in taste, and have far more moisture than the drier, more 'woody' asparagus found during other times of the year, making the texture more tender.
When shopping for asparagus, look for stems that are medium diameter (not pencil-thin), buds that are fresh and tightly closed, and stems that are green and fresh (no dark soft spots). If you break off the bottom of the asparagus or slice into it, it should be moist and not porous.
Fresh asparagus bundles.
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