Asparagus Tart

Posted: May 23rd, 2010 | Filed under: Entree | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments »

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Recently my sweet little sister and her best friend finished their finals and came and visited me! Very fun! Before they headed down sweet little sister had one request… that I cook dinner. Thats cool, I can handle that. I had been wanting to adapt a recipe… so this would be the perfect opportunity to demonstrate a really fun recipe for the girls that they could cook together in their new apartment together… Nice. Not to mention that the asparagus have been really pretty lately.

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I love love asparagus. In fact, I have always liked asparagus, even since I was little. And my sweet husband has not always felt this way, until I converted him with fresh green delicious asparagus. (Not from a can.)  And now he too loves it. Ariel is similar… (except for the can part) she just needed to grow into the idea of asparagus I think. And I’ll tell you this… she called me shortly after for the recipe so she could make this with friends. Yea! I personally wish I had known this recipe in college… it feels so grown up… “Asparagus tart”… yeah, tell your friends that you’re bringing that to the party, and they will be surprised. But what they don’t know is how easy it is.

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I hope you try it out… and enjoy the flavors of spring/summer. And maybe brag a little to your friends that you can make an “asparagus tart.”

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Asparagus Tart

Adapted from delicious days.

1 bunch of organic green asparagus (I used about18 pieces)
2-3 slices of thick cup apple wood bacon
1 large red potato, sliced into 1/4 in slices
3-4 tbsp olive oil
Store bought pie crust (from the refrigerated section, I like Pilsbury)
1 – 2 c Sharp white cheddar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 c heavy whipping cream
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a baking pan with a wire cooling rack on top, place your slices of bacon. Bake your bacon until crispy and delicious, about 20-30 min. Remove from the wire rack, drain the bacon and pat dry with paper towel.

Thinly slice potatoes and toss in a few spoons of olive oil. Bake potatoes in a layer on a baking sheet at 400 degrees F until soft in the middle, about 15 min.

Grease a tart pan (I used 9 inch rectangular form) with butter, arrange pie crust and form a small rim. Using a fork, stab little holes all over the arranged puff pastry. On top, add a layer of potato slices and sprinkle with grated cheese. Crumble the bacon on top of the cheese.

Combine eggs and cream in a bowl, season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and pour over the potato/cheese/bacon layer. Arrange asparagus spears equally across the tart. You may want to brush the tart edges with egg yolk to let it gain a nice golden color while baking.Bake at (350°F) in the preheated oven for about 30min or until edges are golden.
Serve warm.
This pairs really well with a nice fresh lemon dressed mixed green salad and a big glass of iced tea.