Ham Asparagus & Swiss Quinoa Quiche

This week I was lucky to come across quinoa flour at the Leduc Bulk Barn!  No more lame attempts to grind whole quinoa in the food processor!!

I was going to do some baking with the quinoa flour this afternoon, but opted to go out for a pedicure instead.  When I got home, I flipped thru my faveski cook book Quinoa 365 and got some inspiration from their recipe titled "Vegetable Cheddar Quiche" - I used different flavours and ingredients based on what I had in the fridge, and what came out was awesome!!  The funny thing about quinoa is that it stinks before you cook it, then turns into something completely different after baking (at least that's what I've noticed with all my quinoa baking recipes).

Anyways, check out this quiche - something that you could totally fool around with and use your fave flavours - the crust is really unique - it's rich and buttery, but a bit crumbly around the edges. 

Ham Asparagus & Swiss Quinoa Quiche
Crust Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup butter, melted & slightly cooled
1 tbsp water

Filling Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup chopped asparagus (discard woody ends)
3 shallots, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grated swiss cheese
1/2 cup shaved Black Forest ham, chopped into "ribbons"
5 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp quinoa flour
1 tbsp dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter in microwave for about 30 seconds and let cool slightly.  Add quinoa flour and mix well.  Add the water and form a little dough ball.  Grease a 9 inch baking dish with butter and press the dough into the dish, then set aside.

In a medium frying pan, melt butter and saute shallots, garlic & asparagus until tender, about 7-8 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, dijon, salt & pepper, making sure that there are no little flour balls floating around.  Fold in the cheese.

Once the vegetables are tender, remove from heat and layer in the prepared pie crust.  Sprinkle with the shredded ham then top with the egg/cheese mixture.

Put into the oven and bake for 45 minutes.  When time is up, remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Refrigerate leftovers and enjoy for brunch the next day or pack up in a lunch.