Tofu Quiche with Asparagus, Leeks, and Eryngii Mushrooms

1. For crust, in a large bowl, combine flour and salt; mix thoroughly. With fingers, forks or a pastry cutter, work quickly to cut vegetable shortening into the flour/salt mixture. If using hands, pinch shortening into flour. Resulting mixture will have fat chunks the size of a pea. Spoon in chilled water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing gently with a fork after each addition. Use only as much water as you need to gently form the dough into a ball. Handle the dough as little as possible to avoid creaming the lumps of fat into the flour. There should be small balls of fat throughout the dough as this encourages a flaky crust. Overworking the dough will make it tough and dense.
2. Split the dough into 2 equal amounts. Pat them into balls and wrap them in plastic wrap. Allow dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Dough can be made a day ahead. To roll out dough, remove 1 ball dough from the refrigerator and place on a well floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on the ball and flatten gently with hands. Using a lightly dusted rolling pin, begin rolling at the center of the dough and work outwards. For easier clean up you can roll out the dough between sheets of waxed paper. Working quickly, roll the dough into a circle 1/4" thick or smaller. Be sure to make dough a few inches larger than your pie pan or dish.
3. Gently fold the dough in half, and then into quarters and carefully place it into a lightly oiled pie plate so the center of dough is in the center of the pan. Carefully unfold the dough and press into the pan. Trim any excess dough and feel free to pinch the edges to make a fancy edge around the crust. Cover gently with waxed paper and place in refrigerator while you prepare your filling.
4. For filling, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a food processor, add chunks of the tofu, 2 garlic cloves, nutritional yeast, onion powder, turmeric, salt, black salt, and pepper. Stream in the oil and process until smooth. Remove mixture from processor and pour into bowl using a spatula or scraper to get every last bit. Add in oregano, thyme, and parsley. Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add in the asparagus. Cook for 1 minute, remove from hot water and place into a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking process. Remove from ice water, lightly pat dry and set aside.
5. In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil and saute the leeks and the clove of minced garlic for about 6 minutes. Add the chopped mushrooms and continue cooking until soft. Remove from heat and set aside. Remove chilled pie crust from refrigerator. With a fork, make a few holes in the bottom of the crust to allow steam to escape. Place a sheet of waxed or parchment paper on the crust and add pie weights, dry beans or dry rice to help blind bake the dough. This keeps the dough from getting soggy from the filling and prevents air bubbles from forming. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. While the crust is blind baking add the leeks, mushrooms, asparagus, and cheese to the tofu mixture and mix to combine. Reserve a few asparagus tips as a decorative topping for the quiche. Pour mixture into your pre-baked pie pan, arrange asparagus in whatever shape you fancy (I like stars) and bake for 45 minutes, or until crust is golden and tofu is firm. Allow 10 minutes to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
The second ball of dough is just extra dough which can be used to make another quiche, if you'd like, or whatever you fancy. I make a couple fruit pies (hand pies) with leftover dough.
Source of recipe: Recipe inspired by my local farmer's market. Crust recipe from Crisco.