Cooking with Manuela: Quiche with Asparagus and Speck

Perfect recipe for this Sunday brunch: savory, rich and creamy quiche with asparagus and speck

This recipe is not only great for Sunday brunch, but also for your next picnic, or a light family dinner next to a big green salad. And assuming there are any leftovers, a slice of this quiche is great for your kids lunch box. Or to pack and take with you to the office on Monday.
For this quiche, I used frozen puff pastry which is one of those things that I always have in my freezer. I promised some of my friends to write a post of things-you-should-always-have-in-your-freezer/fridge/pantry. Ok, this is one!
It's not complicated to do a pie crust, but it's definitely more time consuming. What's not to love about frozen puff pastry anyways? It's easy. It's quick. It's mess-free. And it's consistently delicious.
This quiche is really fast to assemble. And if you don't find speck, you can always substitute with thin-sliced pancetta, prosciutto or ham.

Ingredients: to make an 11 inch pie

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed (I used Pepperidge Farm, frozen)
4 eggs
1 bunch of asparagus (12 oz, 350 gr)
3 oz (85 gr) of speck or pancetta
3.5 oz (100 gr) gruyere cheese
2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese
12 fl oz (350 ml) whipping cream
salt

Preparation time: 60 minutes (15 minutes to prepare, 45 minutes baking)
Directions:
1. Thaw the puff pastry if you haven't done it yet. Remove the bottom part of the asparagus breaking the bottom with your hands (as close to the end as possible). Wash, cut in pieces about an inch in length, leaving longer tips (about 3 inches). Boil for about 5 minutes in slightly salted water.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the quiche or tart pan with butter and flour. On a clean counter, sprinkled with flour, stretch out the dough to fit into a 11 inches quiche pan. Cut the edges. Using a fork, poke holes to the bottom of the crust.