Smoked Salmon and British Asparagus Mini Crustless Quiches

This week is National Picnic Week although I suspect someone may have forgotten to tell the weather. It's been somewhat soggy and driech, certainly in my wee corner of Aberdeenshire. If things are looking brighter where you are it's a great opportunity to fill a flask, dig out the wicker picnic basket and tartan travel rug and set out on an edible adventure. If the weather really doesn't want to play ball the recipe that I'm sharing today for Smoked Salmon and British Asparagus Mini Crustless Quiches makes a perfect packed lunch or light supper. And for anyone following Slimming World these tasty morsels just happen to be Syn Free.

Its nearing towards the end of the short but sweet British Asparagus season and I've been indulging in the tasty green spears on a very regular basis. Alongside salmon and egg they really are the most perfect of flavour combinations. To line my mini quiches I've used squares of smoked salmon which are sold as sandwich slices.These are the perfect size for a muffin tin but if you can't track any down you can instead jigsaw together regular smoked salmon to do the same job. I cook these in a very simple bain marie which stops the edges overcooking before the centre of your mini crustless quiche sets.

Smoked Salmon and British Asparagus Mini Crustless Quiches

Fry Light Spray Oil

100g Pack of 6 Scottish Smoked Salmon Sandwich Slices

12 British Asparagus Spears

2 Free Range Eggs

4 Tbsp Quark

Salt & Pepper

Preheat your oven to 180c
Spray the indentations of a 6 hole muffin pan with Oil and line each hole with Smoked Salmon.
Cut the tips off your Asparagus Spears and set them aside.
Slice the stems of the Asparagus into 1cm lengths and saute them in a frying pan with a squirt of spray oil for 5 minutes.
Whisk together the Eggs and Quark and season with freshly ground Salt & Pepper.
Divide the sauted Asparagus equally between the 6 mini quiches and pour over the egg mixture.
Top each quiche with two of the Asparagus Tips and fold in any overhanging salmon.
Use a roasting tin, large enough to sit your muffin tray in, as your Bain Marie. Half fill it with boiling water and place the muffin tin into it.
Cook for 20 minutes or until the egg is set.
Serve warm or chilled.

If you fancy a picture perfect picnic without the hassle of creating it yourself, the three hampers being launched this week by Mercure Hotels will be right up your street. The classic British pastime of picnicking is brought slap bang up to date with a bespoke range of ‘Pre-Instagrammed Picnic Hampers’ combining our modern obsession with uploading foodie phots to social media, with the age old passion for al fresco dining. There have been almost 300 million (and counting) food posts on Instagram since its launch in 2010. At the moment I'm responsible for 2612 of them! The three hampers, created in partnership with contemporary food designers, Bompas & Parr, have been designed to fit the style, shade, and colouring of the UK’s favourite Instagram filters - Mayfair, Hudson and Juno. 

The vibrantly coloured hampers feature beautifully created, totally bespoke food, with locally inspired ingredients from selected by Mercure hotels, including Ardoe House Hotel just down the road from me in Aberdeen. The “Pre-Instagrammed” picnic baskets will allow you to snap a perfect picture shot that doesn’t need to be filtered or adjusted; tapping in to the growing trend for #nofilter food photography. You'll be sure to get maximum likes, shares, comments and taste! 

Disclosure : I have received compensation from Mercure by way of a hotel stay in return for this post. All views expressed are my own.