Asparagus is figuring prominently in my recipes at the moment since a friend of mine just brought over about three pounds and left them with me.  So, I need to eat a lot of it over the next week or so!  I whipped up this yummy cheese pie featuring asparagus and bacon, two of my favorite things.   I often add ricotta cheese to my quiches and breakfast omelets, so it goes in great with this crustless pie.  It’s great for brunch, lunch or add a salad and make it dinner.

Incidently, if you missed it, I did a guest post earlier this week for The Chinese Quest with a great recipe for Asparagus Shrimp Stir Fry.  

Just want to mention that the print copy of my cookbook is on sale at Amazon for $5,85 versus $6.50.  Not sure how long this price will last, but it’s a good time to buy it if you haven’t already.  Many recipes in it are not on this website, so you won’t find them here, but you will find the color images of the photos in the book, which are black and white, beginning on this page with links to the rest of the pages.  The link to the book page at Amazon is on the right.

Asparagus, Bacon & Ricotta Cheese Pie

A crustless pie made with ricotta cheese, bacon, asparagus and cheddar jack cheese. It’s garnished with more asparagus and tomatoes.

14 stalks Asparagus, 5″ trimmed
4 Eggs
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 cup Cheddar Jack Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Onions, diced
4 slices thick Bacon,
4 large grape tomatoes (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 oz. Heavy Cream
1/2 teaspoon Seasoning Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F.) Spray an 8″ pie dish with baking spray.

Hold back 6 asparagus spears, then slice the rest into 1 inch pieces and distribute evenly over the bottom of the pie pan.

Cook bacon until crisp and let drain and cool on paper towels while you cook the onions. Add a little bacon grease to a small pan and sauté the onions until they are just tender. Sprinkle the onions over the top of the asparagus. Break the bacon into pieces and distribute over the top of the asparagus, then sprinkle 3/4 cup of the shredded cheese over the top.

In a medium bowl, break the eggs and beat until blended, then add the ricotta cheese, heavy cream, and seasonings. Beat to mix the ingredients together. Pour over the asparagus and cheese in the pan, spreading as evenly as possible. It will settle in.

Trim the asparagus to the 4″ lengths and cut the extra trimmed off into two pieces. Position the asparagus spears on the top to form six divisions. Cut grape tomatoes and use to decorate the pie as shown.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out fairly clean, It will firm up more as it cools. Let sit about 10 minutes, then cut and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition info per serving:
Calories: 190.4 Fat: 14.3 g Net Carbs: 3.0 g Protein: 12.9 g

Tip:  This can be made with zucchini or chopped broccoli (par-boil first).  Substitute in turkey bacon if you prefer or to make it vegetarian, use a soy bacon or other vegetarian bacon.  This will affect the carb count by about .5 net carbs more per serving.