Asparagus Onion Bacon Quiche

I haven't done much in the recipe section except for desserts so I thought I'd start off light but...  What to make?  So Monkey dragged me out to a place far out in space (ok, it was only in Kitsilano) called La Ghianda and for whatever reason, I had ordered the quiche.  No rhyme or reason other than the fact that it was sitting there in front of me.  After I ate it, I had a revelation: onions and quiche go really well together!  So I went home, experimented (with food of course) and this is what I came up with!

Tools needed:

Medium bowl

8 inch pie dish

Measuring bowls and spoons

Medium skillet or pot

Spatula

Olive oil cooking spray
Whisk

Ingredients:

6-8 slices of thick cut bacon, cooked and chopped into pieces

1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1 cup of asparagus, chopped into 1/2 cm to 1 cm pieces

1 medium-sized onion, sliced into thin strips (approximately 5 mm thick - they will be caramelized)

1 tbsp agave syrup

3 tbsp water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 unbaked pie crust (9 inch)

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 milk (or half and half or almond milk)

1 tbsp dried parsley

4 large eggs

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Preheat over to 375 C.  Place pie crust into pie pan, ensuring that the crust goes over the pie pan - crimp the sides if you wish for a decorative flair (I have no such flair so I kind of just wadded it together - I need to take some decorating classes...)

2.  Heat olive oil in medium skillet or pot over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until soft and translucent. Reduce heat to medium-low and add water and agave syrup.  Leave onions to cook in pan/skillet, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown (picture the onions you get on a street hot dog).  Be patient!  When onions are a deep golden brown, remove from heat, stir in bacon and add to pie crust.

3.  Mix together cheddar (minus a 1/4 cup for the top), Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle on top of pie.


4.  In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk, eggs and dried parsley.  Add asparagus and season with salt and pepper.  Pour into pie crust atop onion and cheese mixture.  Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese.

5.  Place pie in the middle of the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes (the top should be puffy and golden brown).  Remove from oven and leave to cool down for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

6.  Eat and enjoy!


Note: if you want a healthier version, you can substitute the bacon with 1-1 1/2 cups of cooked ham or to eliminate the meat altogether, you can sub in 1 cup of frozen spinach (defrosted and mixed with 1/2 cup sour cream) or add another 1 medium-sized onion caramelized like above.  That's the beauty of a quiche - you can change the ingredients to your liking!