Mushroom and Asparagus Quiche with Sesame Pastry

My mom brought a feta, mushroom and asparagus quiche recipe with her which she loves to make.
The funny thing is that she found it in a magazine about 10 years ago and she still has the page with the original recipe... impressive right?

Well we made it for dinner and it was lovely.
I especially love the sesame seeds in the crust.
My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
I guess I'll be making this quiche again very soon...

Here is a copy of the recipe from the January 2004 Woman's Value magazine:

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Oven temperature: 200 C

Ingredients:
270g cake flour
50ml toasted sesame seeds
125g butter, cut into cubes
125ml cold water
100g asparagus spears
20ml sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
200g mixed mushrooms
3 eggs, lightly beaten
100g feta, crumbled
100g Gruyere (or mature Cheddar), grated
125ml milk

Method:
1. Sieve the flour. Add the sesame seeds. Rub in the butter and mix in about 125ml cold water. Knead lightly, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge.
2. Boil the asparagus in a little water for one minute. remove from heat, drain and cover with cold water. Drain and set aside.
3. Heat the oil and add the onion. Saute for one minute. Slice larger mushrooms and leave small ones whole. Add to the pan and fry for two minutes.
4. Set aside to cool. Mix eggs and milk. Season to taste.
5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and line a 22cm quiche tine or pie dish. Prick base with a fork several times then add the cooled ingredients and the cheeses. Pour the rest of the mixture on top. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden and set.
Serve warm or cold.

Lazy Holiday Dinners

The tiny kitchen in our accommodation in Provence did not stop me from cooking most evenings and the best part was sitting outside to eat.

Asparagus featured a lot... it is in season after all!

I served it with steak, mushrooms, potatoes and a salad.

What I wouldn't give to be sitting there right now.

Pasta with Ham, Mushrooms and Asparagus

I love asparagus.

Two weeks ago I made a pretty tasty pasta dish with garlic, shallots, ham, mushrooms then I topped it with a sprinkle of parmesan and pan fried asparagus.

Of course that sounds very basic but there was some skill involved and a cup of white wine.

In this foto I applied Florabella's colour pop and ocean actions.

I quite like the subtle effect!

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Salad

It was the usual question.
What am I going to make for dinner.
I had chicken breasts, I had asparagus and I had a lime.
Of course I had a whole lot more than that but I really wanted to use the chicken, asparagus and the lime!

I browsed the Delicious Magazine website and stumbled across two potential recipes. I improvised and used a bit of this one and a bit of that one.

I was happy with the results and so was my husband!

Ingredients:

3 skinless free-range chicken breasts
Juice of 1 lime and lime zest
½ garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika powder
½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
1 courgette, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
12 - 15 asparagus spears
2 cups arugula lettuce
60 gr couscous

Method:

Place the chicken breasts between sheets of cling film and carefully flatten with a rolling pin until they are 10mm thick. Place in a dish with the lime juice, the lime zest, garlic, dried spices and one table spoon olive oil. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for an hour or two.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place the chopped courgette, carrots and onions into an oven proof dish, season and drizzle some olive oil on top. Roast in the oven for approximately 40 minutes.

Prepare the couscous as per the instructions on the packaging.

Trim the asparagus and drizzle with olive oil.

Heat up your grill (I use an electric grill which looks a little like a George Foreman Grill!).
Now place the asparagus on the grill and let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
Next cook the chicken breasts on the grill - it shouldn't take long, but it entirely depends on your grill.

Combine everything, including the arugula, and enjoy a very healthy and tasty salad!

The lazy dinner

Sometimes you just need to make something that requires no effort at all.
The most strenuous activity should be opening the packaging.
Here's last night's dinner: Vegetarian fillets with potatoes and asparagus.
I bought the potatoes already peeled and sliced - how is that for lazy.

Ingredients:
4 Vegetarian fillets stuffed with spinach
A bag of 500 gr peeled and sliced potatoes
Asparagus - trimmed and ready for cooking
safflower oil - probably 2 tablespoons, maybe more

Method:
Switch the oven on (200 degrees Celsius)
Drizzle some oil on the potatoes, season and pop into the oven for 30 minutes
Place the asparagus in a oven proof dish. Drizzle oil and add a pinch of sea salt. Place into the oven about 15 to 20 minutes.
Lastly, add the vegetarian fillets to the oven for about 10 minutes
Dinner should be ready in 30 minutes - not very exciting but oh so easy.