Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Simple Asparagus Tart – Sorry, Mom!

I don’t often buy puff pastry to make asparagus tarts, but when I find a piece in the back of the freezer, it’s one of my all-time favorite things to do. My only real regret with this video, was not finishing it with a poached egg, and calling it a Mother’s Day brunch special. As great as this was, it would have been even more so accessorized with a runny egg.

As long as you’re pretty good at making rectangles, and trimming things to the right length, this recipe is a breeze. By the way, I’ll give the specific ingredient amounts I used here, but this really depends on how much asparagus you have, and how long you want your tart to be.

The width of your tart is always going to be a little wider than the asparagus are long, as you see above; but the length is up to you, and you can use as many spears as will fit across your pan. If you’re not quite clear on what I’m saying, simply Google “asparagus tart” and you’ll see what I mean. They’re like snowflakes.

While we got a surprisingly positive response on our raw asparagus salad recipe (I really should have more faith in you), I did want to do a more classic, hot preparation as well. Asparagus is bountiful and beautiful right now, and I really hope you pick some up, possibly along with some eggs, and give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
6 x 9 inch rectangle of puff pasty, thawed
6 asparagus spears, blanched in well-salted wated
2 tsp melted butter
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano as needed
For the mustard sauce:
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp crème fraiche
freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste
- Bake puff pastry shell at 400 F. for 10-12 minutes, or until puffed and golden-brown.
- Fill and bake another 10-12 minutes or until the pastry is browned and asparagus are tender (but not mushy!).

25 comments:

cookinmom said...

Good one chef..."save the ice for the Margarita's". Will try with an egg!

PhillyBear said...

"until it's completely pricked over..." I almost spit out my coffee laughing!

Unknown said...

Just a heads up, Chef. You can boil the "woody" ends of the asparagus, blend and then strain through a mesh to make a really flavorful soup. Good way to lessen waste in the kitchen.

By the way, just finished making this. its amazing!

Missjyyko said...

Keep up with the asparagus~ love it!!

Bob Waters said...

Just a thought; reversing every other asparagus spear might make them fit better. Plus if you split with someone else, both get top and bottom of the vegetable.

Chef John said...

Bob, Yes, but I don't like how that looks. I'm an all same direction guy. Aldo, can be split lengthwise. :)

Spencer, yes, I'm familiar with the using trimmings for soup trick ;)

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Spring! Spargelzeit!

rancholyn said...

This looks lovely….Have you ever served this as an appetizer? How many do you think it would serve as appetizer or side dish?

Chef John said...

Maybe 2?

GRTC Event Site said...

"...Should be abundant by now"?? Come to Michigan, my friend. We just got more snow today. We won't see asparagus for 8 weeks.

Qirtaas said...

Dude you never said to unroll the sheet of puff pastry! This was my first time working with it so I didn't know. Anyway mine came out a bit underdone as a result.

Bobbisox said...

We had this with an excellent grilled salmon and my husband kept raving about the asparagus raft (I like that term) and how good the sauce under the asparagus was. He didn't hear the part of buy an expensive (really good) parmigiano reggiano but the cheese was $28 a pound and well worth it for this dish. I didn't read the comments so just did one big raft for the two of us then split it length-wise and presentation wise it was great. We will do this again, and again. I am thinking in the fall maybe some very lightly cooked broccoli in it as we love that. My husband is so proud we did this, well I cooked, he shopped.

Chef John said...

Bobbi, so glad you liked it!

Aun, rolled puff pastry? I've never seen that before! Mine comes in flat sheets!

blogagog said...

My wife saw this video, and then she called me a 'dock'. What does that even mean?

Jana said...

I discovered your videos last week (what planet have I been on?) and my nine year old son and I have had a blast watching and learning. Today we made this tart together and it was a hit!

The only puff pastry in our fairly large supermarket was Pepperidge Farms, and each sheet (there are two in the package) is indeed folded in thirds, and opens into a square about 9 inches by 9 inches.

We needed about twice the amount of asparagus as you used, but no problem--it all turned out beautifully and one tart cut into four smaller portions (plus four poached eggs) made a superb dinner for our family of 4. Thanks for all the fabulous recipes (and all the laughs!).

Chef John said...

Thanks! That's great parenting right there! :)

Ed the house chef said...

Chef,

I try to avoid asking questions but I've got one. I'll probably just go with my gut because I probably won't hear back from you in time to take your advice. I'm making this lovely looking tart and wonder if I make it in advance will it reheat well or should I just do a bake and serve instead of reheating. Thanks.

Ed the house chef said...

Jana,

We have the same Pepperidge Farms pastry sheets here and I was surprised at how large they were. I had already planned on making two of them and had plenty of asparagus. However, each one is a meal by itself. Fortunately, I had only paired it with the Lentil soup. Not a classic pairing but they smell great together. Haven't tasted them yet because they are still cooking.

Chef John said...

Ed, puff pastry doesn't reheat very well, so I recommend making befor serving. Enjoy!

Willie Dukeshire said...

I made this last night. My wife was crazy about it, she said I'd outdone myself.It came out just like yours did. Thanks for yet another fabulous recipe.

Unknown said...

I see a pair of fried eggs on top of this! Now that would be a great breakfast.

Alicia said...

I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait to try this!!!! I seriously may have to quit my job so I can continue watching videos and trying out some of these recipes. I love how easy you make it!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef, I hope you're still reading comments on older posts! I'm excited to try this, but I'd like to add proscuitto. Should I put it under the asparagus, weave strips through the apsaragus like a basket weave pie crust, or put it on top?
Also, I made your cronuts for my daughter's birthday and now she thinks I'm a wizard. So, thanks!!

MikeNJ said...

Tried this tonight, Chef John - family loved it.

Made tarts according to directions, with one exception: forgot to get creme fraiche or sour cream, so used plain yogurt in the mustard sauce.

The frozen puff pastries I bought came in a tri-fold configuration. I used two of the three folds on each of the two pastries in two boxes. What to do with the leftover pieces? Aha! Used the same puff pastry method (fold over edges and docking, cooking in two steps, etc.) ... but with a couple of dollops of strawberry jam cooked in the second step rather than the asparagus filling! Savory main course, savory tarts, and a sweet little dessert. Good combo!

Regards,
Mike

Christiaan said...

Made this tonight for my wife recovering from surgery and having appetite problems. She loved it and ate about a quarter of the tart and a small bowl of leek/asparagus soup. I did add some thin sliced ham between the asparagus and sauce, worked out very well. I think this would be great served cold with a drizzle of sour cream on top.
Thanks for all the great recipes and ideas, Chef!