Asparagus Pie

 

Can I just take this time to say how much I love love love BUST magazine?? For the uninitiated, it’s feminist bi-monthly that’s well-written, always intelligent, occasionally snarky and features DIY adventures like tapping your own maple syrup (which I seriously looked into, but for lack of said tree to tap) and homemade vanilla extract (currently brewing.) And, of course, catering to my newfound affection, this month’s issue was the food issue—how perfect!!

The main story featured recipes from food bloggers (again! love.) for potlucks and parties and this pie caught my eye (in the sky?) I know asparagus is a summer food and that I’m a little premature, but I couldn’t wait three months to make an asparagus lattice work and so into the grocery cart it went. It’s also one of the few vegetables my sister will eat, surprisingly enough.

The crème fraiche and goat cheese sauce was, as one might expect, deliciously creamy, and though the asparagus wasn’t at its best, re: peak harvest schedules, it was still crunchy and slightly bitter. A little dash of nutmeg added a little sweet to the savory and rounded out the flavor palette to hit pretty much every tastebud.

I guess we’ll just have to have another Broho potluck so I can put this recipe to good use again…

ASPARAGUS PIE

(via BUST Magazine)

For the crust:

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes

1-2 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

8 ounces crème fraîche

3 ½ ounces chèvre

1 egg

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 large bunch of asparagus

To make the crust, combine flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add cold butter and mix together until fine and crumbly. Using your hands, knead in the 1-2 tablespoons of cold water, until solid dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Saute onions and olive oil in a small sauce pan. In a separate bowl, combine crème fraîche, chèvre and egg. Stir in spices and lemon juice. Take the asparagus and set aside four or five of the prettiest pieces (to use on lattice topping) and chop the remaining stems into ½-inch bias-cut slices. Stir slices into chèvre mixture.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When ready, remove pie crust from fridge and separate about 1/5 of the dough for the topping. Roll out the larger amount on a lightly floured surface until large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a deep pie dish (then cover said pie dish.) Pour chèvre mixture on top. Roll out remaining dough into 4-5 long strips. Alternating with leftover asparagus stems, lay on top of pie in a lattice fashion (weaving, if you can!) Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes, or until edges begin to golden. Serve hot!