Asparagus souffle quiche

Spring appears to be here in Wellington...oh wait, it's gone again...nope, it's here. Veges are ridiculously cheap at the moment, especially the first lot of asparagus. Making things even better are the first round of spring greens making an appearance in the garden. I've grown enough spinach, rocket, chives and parsley to start picking them, so last night they went in a rather spring-like quiche. 


1 bunch asparagus
100g feta
2 cups mixed greens (I used spinach, rocket, chives and parsley)
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
4 eggs
salt and pepper
oil
baking paper


Snap the woody ends off the asparagus (I throw them in the freezer, and when I have a bagful make asparagus soup). Cut off the tips, and pop into a sieve. Chop the rest of the asparagus into 1cm long pieces, then drop them into a saucepan of boiling water for around a minute. Pour the boiling water over the asparagus tips, and drain everything well. 


Put the asparagus into a mixing bowl, adding the mixed greens and crumbling the feta over the top. Chop the onion and garlic finely, and soften in a little oil. Add to the rest of the vegetables. 


Grab another mixing bowl, and start cracking the eggs. Separate the whites and the yolks - the whites go into the empty mixing bowl by themselves, while the yolks go in with the vegetable/feta mixture. Whisk the egg whites until they're almost at stiff peaks.


Using a spatula, combine the vegetable, feta and egg yolk mixture together. Add a little salt (the feta will provide plenty of saltiness anyway) and pepper, then carefully combine this mixture with the egg whites. Stir everything together, but not so vigorously that it knocks all the air out of the egg whites. 


Pour into a baking tin - I used a loaf tin lined with some baking paper. Pop into the oven at around 180C for 15 minutes or so. The top should be a golden colour, and when you give the tin a little shake, the quiche should stay firm rather than quivering. Cut into slices, and eat while it's warm.