Chicken, Chorizo & Asparagus Quiche

If I’m going to do a roast dinner, I like to have some leftovers to turn into future lunches and dinners.  With a meagre amount of piri-piri spiced roast chicken not eaten at first sitting, an idea started to formulate in my mind to turn the leftovers into another delicious meal.

With that pot of thick and luscious homemade crème fraîche peeking at me from the fridge door and a few baby chorizo sausages to cook, the idea for this quiche was born.

As fortune and coincidence have it, it is almost exactly a year since I posted the recipe for this savoury summer tart using a pizza dough base in place of traditional shortcrust pastry. British weather isn’t fantastic this Spring which means I’m not quite ready for salads as a standalone meal so this satisfying quiche which is far removed from stodgy classic pastry based ones, means I can get a healthy hit of the good stuff with a couple of side salads whilst the main event is altogether more substantial.

I like chopped tomatoes in garlic and balsamic vinegar that become the dressing for some tender baby leaf lettuce.  The quiche itself is a very simple affair – I left the egg out of the pastry and didn’t miss it and the filling is simply roasted chicken, cooked chorizo and tender, slim spears of asparagus with little extra seasoning required.

The savoury custard has a gentle tang with the crème fraîche and some buttermilk to thin it down and it balances the richness of the roasted meat and the warm spiciness of the chorizo beautifully.

The asparagus lend their gentle flavour and turn a rich green upon cooking in the dry heat of the oven. I’m not a lover of thick stemmed asparagus but can’t get enough of the tiny, tender stems available at this time of year.

Served with the breath of the oven still on it, I can’t imagine a more perfect meal for a mild night with just enough light to pop down to the local shop for some fresh salad leaves before slicing and tucking in.  The chorizo produces beautiful little orange puddles where its paprika and garlic rice oil leaches out as the sausage cooks gently within that tangy savoury custard.

There’s no need for salt or mounds of cheese.  As the meats have already been cooked I wouldn’t serve any leftovers hot again but there is something redolent of picnics or evening meals in the garden on summer nights than a wedge of quiche wrapped in wax paper, eaten cold.

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Chicken, Chorizo and Asparagus Quiche

Servings: 6

: 334 kcal

Author: Just Jo

Ingredients

For the base

• 200 g strong bread flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried instant yeast
• ¼ tsp seas salt
• Approx 150ml water

For the filling

• 60-80 g cooked chorizo chopped small
• 100-120 g cooked chicken shredded
• 100 g fine asparagus 1-2 inches of the ends trimmed and chopped
• 175 g buttermilk
• 150 g  crème fraîche
• 3 medium-large eggs
• 10 g grated parmesan
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
• Plenty of cracked black pepper

Instructions

1. Make the dough for the base by stirring all the ingredients together with enough water to make a soft not sticky dough. Knead for 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a stand mixer. Grease the bowl and cover, leaving somewhere warm to prove until at least doubled in size.
2. Preheat an oven to 180°C and put a baking tray in to preheat with it.
3. When the dough is proved, pat it out and roll so that it is 1-2 inches bigger than a 23cm loose bottomed tart tin. Line the tin with the pastry, cutting any excess off by pressing down with your thumb.
4. Place the chopped ends of the asparagus (reserve the tips for now), shreds of chicken and cubes of chorizo on the dough case.
5. I find it easiest to weigh all the remaining ingredients into a large jug on a digital scale as it’s nice and quick. Whisk together then pour over the meats and chopped asparagus.
6. Lay the reserved asparagus tips on top of the savoury custard in the pattern of the spokes of a wheel then place on the preheated baking tray and cook for 30-35 minutes until the filling has puffed, is a sunny golden and just jiggles if you give the pan a gentle shake. Cool for at least 20 minutes before serving – I really love it almost at room temperature with cool crisp salad leaves on the side.

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