Time: 1 hour Serves: 6-8
Recipe By: NYTCooking
Because you don’t have to make your own crust, this gorgeous asparagus-striped tart is so easy it almost feels like cheating. But it’s not. It’s just simple yet stunning, effortlessly chic and company-ready. As there are so few ingredients in this recipe that each one makes an impact, be sure to buy a good all-butter brand of puff pastry. If you can manage to serve this tart warm, within an hour of baking, it will be at its absolute best, with crisp pastry that shatters into buttery bits when you bite down and still-runny cheese. But it’s also excellent a few hours later, should you want to get all your baking done before your guests arrive. If tarragon isn’t your favorite herb, you can use chives, basil or mint instead. And if you can manage to trim all the asparagus to the same length, this tart will be especially neat and orderly looking.
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces goat cheese, room temp
- 1 large egg beaten, room temp
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 1/2 TBSP chopped fresh tarragon (or herb of choice)
- 1/2 TBSP lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 cup creme fraiche or sour cream, room temp
- flour, for dusting work surface
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry (9-14 ounces depending on brand)
- 8 ounces asparagus, trimmed
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 TBSP grated parmesan
- 1/2 cup shaved parmesan
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, use a fork or a wooden spoon to mash together the goat cheese, egg, garlic, tarragon, lemon zest, and salt until smooth. Switch to a whisk and beat in the crème fraîche until smooth.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry into a 13-by-11-inch rectangle about ⅛-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined cookie sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score a ½-inch border around the edges of the puff pastry.
- Spread the crème fraîche mixture evenly inside the scored border. Line up the asparagus spears on top, and brush them with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt and the grated Parmesan over the asparagus.
- Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let it cool on the cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours before serving. Then sprinkle black pepper, red-pepper flakes (if using), the shaved Parmesan and tarragon leaves. Drizzle a little oil on top.
TIP
- You can assemble the tart 1 day in advance; but reserve the sprinkling of salt and grated Parmesan until right before baking. Loosely cover the tart and store it in the refrigerator until it’s time to bake.