Asparagus, corn, and leek pie

Asparagus tops the list of my favorite vegetables. And as much as I love it, I rarely find myself coming home with fresh asparagus after a grocery trip. The reason for that? Either the vegetable is priced super-high, or the stalks are in a close-to-rotting condition. It's very rare to find a good combination of the price and quality of asparagus in Delhi. So when I do get so lucky, it's a treat!

 

I used my last bunch of asparagus to make a pie with leek and corn. A delightful combintaion of flavours, I must say.  The leek and corn peeping out from below, and the asparagus on top made for a very pretty sight as well. This is one dish that takes a little bit of an effort, but each minute spent on this is totally worth it! 

 

To make one 10-12 inch pie crust -

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

50 gms butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and chilled

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

3-4 tbsps cold water

For the filling:

200 gms tofu

80 ml milk

1 bunch asparagus (20-25 stalks)

100 gms(1/4 can) corn, drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 leek, chopped

2 tbsps olive oil

1/2 cup grated cheddar/emmental cheese

salt

pepper

In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Rub in the cubes of butter until you get a coarse  and crumbly mixture. Altervatively, you could also use a fork to press the butter into the flour. Use water (bit by bit) until the dough comes together. Shape into a ball and press flat. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until you get the desired size and thickness. Place in a pie-dish, press the edges down and wrap with cling-film. Keep refrigerated while you make the filling.

Pre-heat the oven at 240 degrees C. 

 

Heat the oil in a big non-stick pan. Fry the garlic and leek until they start turning brown.  Meanwhile, wash the asparagus and trim the bottom 2-3 inches, making all the stalks the same length, such that 2 stalks add up to the diameter of your pie dish. Keep aside. Add the corn to to the pan, sprinkle some salt and pepper, mix well for a few mins and turn the flame off. In a blender, puree the tofu, milk, salt and pepper. 

Get the pie crust out of the refrigerator and spread the leek and corn filling evenly in it. Follow it with the tofu mixture. Spread it evenly. Top with grated cheese. Then carefully arrange the asparagus stalks in a pattern on the pie. (You could also chop up the asparagus and mix it into the leek and corn mixture, but they look much nicer on top!) Turn down the oven to 200 and bake for 30-40 mins until the pie edges start to brown. 

Serve hot from the oven! 

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