The Kitchen Docs

Hello lovelies! I hope all of you had a great Mother’s Day weekend. If you are a mommy, a daddy, a daughter, a son, a mom to be, dream to be a mom, a mom nursing a loss, missing your mom – I hope you had a peaceful, love filled day. Though a mom is always and forever special, it doesn’t hurt to set aside a day devoted to celebration of purest form of love that exists. I made this asparagus tart few weeks ago and I think this recipe is pretty fitting to share on (after) Mother’s Day. The ease and simplicity of this recipe is just like mother’s love – simple, pure, easy to come and is beautiful. Cheesy? I know…I think I’ll leave it here.

We are getting tons of fresh asparagus these days. In farmer’s markets, grocery stores, friends’ gardens. This makes me super happy. There is something about fresh, seasonal produce that makes me feel much attached to the environment. We discovered asparagus few years ago and there has been no looking back. Apart from the regular sautéed or roasted asparagus (with garlic and olive oil), our family enjoys aloo asparagus (recipe here) and asparagus risotto (this recipe). I would call this recipe semi-homemade because that what it is. You get puff pastry from the freezer section of your store, cheese from your cheese monger and asparagus. All you have to do is more or less just assemble the tart. As always, I strongly recommend shredding your own cheese. We do not need the unnecessary ingredients that are present in the pre-shredded cheese. Plus – think arm workout – score!

Recipe run down is simple – thaw the puff pastry and then roll it out into a rectangle. Par bake it for few minutes, add cheese and asparagus and bake until golden. You have a show stopper for your table. I use mozzarella and parmesan cheese for the tart but feel free to use gruyere or gouda if you like. Parmesan is a must! For asparagus, you might choose to blanch it before baking, if you do not like it crunchy with a bite. It is optional and definitely not required if you have fresh, tender asparagus.

4.8 from 5 votes

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Easy, 5-ingredient Asparagus Tart made with Puff Pastry

An easy asparagus tart with puff pastry that is gorgeous, delicious, easy to make, and perfect for an appetizer or a partner in crime to a hearty salad or soup.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword Asparagus

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 10-15 spears of asparagus ends trimmed
• 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry thawed
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup parmesan chees
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper or Italian Seasoning
• Flour for dusting the counter while rolling out puff pastry

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200 degrees C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Optional Step: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the trimmed asparagus and blanch for 30 seconds then immediately and drain.
3. Sprinkle some flour on your work surface then unfold the thawed puff pastry roll it into a 10 by 12-inch rectangle. Transfer the rolled out pastry sheet to the lined cookie sheet. Use a sharp knife, score a rectangular border about 1 inch from the edges. This will create puffed edges for the tart when baked. Prick the center of the pastry with a fork (so that it does not puff up) then bake it for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the par baked “tart” from the oven and sprinkle it with the shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses then arrange the blanched asparagus spears on top of the cheese. Brush the pastry and asparagus with the olive oil then, sprinkle with salt and pepper (or Italian seasoning).
5. Return the tart to the oven for 20 more minutes or until the pastry turns golden brown, cheese is melted and asparagus looks roasted.
6. Remove the tart from the oven, sprinkle some more parmesan (optional), slice and serve.

Recipe Notes

Adding Italian seasoning adds a great touch. If you have some balsamic dressing lying around, drizzle it over the baked tart to add a great contrast of flavors. Makes great leftovers (hah!), serve cold or at room temperature.

Serve this tart with salad or soup (this).

Checkout these other asparagus recipes too.

Love – Vaishali.

Tools used:

Oven

Knife and Chopping Board