Asparagus Tart with Peas and Gruyere

Asparagus Tart with Peas and Gruyere in a puff pastry crust; a simple, elegant dish, perfect for a special occasion, like a celebration of Spring or Mother’s Day Brunch. Under 30 minutes on your brunch table!

It is always fun to work with bright colored food, especially during Spring time, as the colors perk you up, while cooking and again during eating (and while typing this post).

Savory tarts are designed to be eaten straight from the oven, so lip-burning hot, but that does not mean that they don’t taste nice slightly cooled or even cold. Remember we all ate or eat cold slices of pizza. All ingredients in this tart are cooked, so nothing is raw and even if they were, in this particular tart all ingredients can be eaten raw (the puff pastry may be the exception to that rule).

The puff pastry crust is best enjoyed on the day of baking as that keeps the crust crunchy, but you can make the tart ahead of time, keep it in the fridge for a few days, warm it in the oven and you can still expect a similar crunch and flakiness, and a similarly delicious flavor.

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

• Puff pastry
• Asparagus – try to find the very thin ones.
• Green peas
• Gruyere cheese – or Comte Cheese
• Egg – for egg wash
• Lemon zest
• Nutmeg

Puff Pastry

The easy way is to use a store-bought frozen dough is to let it thaw in the fridge overnight or on the day of (check instructions on the packaging). When you start working with the dough make sure it is not too cold (tough to roll out) and not too warm (it becomes sticky).

Roll the puff pastry out to a square of approximately 12 x 12 inches, and a 1/4 inch thickness, then prick the dough with a fork. Carefully cut off strips of 1 inch from each side and set them aside (off the baking sheet, they will be added onto the dough later).

Bake the crust for about 10 minutes or until it starts to turn brown and puffy. Allow to cool.

Brush the egg wash (whisking the egg with 1 tablespoon of water) on the outer 1-inch perimeter of the baked pastry. Top that brushed perimeter with the unbaked strips of dough (the egg wash acts as glue) and brush with egg wash again to get the same golden color after baking.

There is a faster way, if you prefer. Score (not cut) the dough 1 inch around the perimeter and you’ll have a similar effect. The difference is that the outside of the crust will be less high than with the glue-on-method. And I believe the added strips give a more rustic look, especially at the corners.

Asparagus, peas and Gruyere cheese filling

A vegetable-cheese mixture is going to be the filling of the tart. Cook the asparagus in water with salt for about 3-5 minutes and add the frozen pea the last 2 minutes. Keep some of the asparagus tops aside, as well as some peas; these will become the decorations of the tart.

Drain the vegetables. Drain them well; the drier the better. Too much moisture may result in the filling oozing out of the tart at the moment of cutting. Shred the Gruyere cheese or Comte cheese or any other Alpine-type cheese. A melting cheese with a bold flavor works the best.

Transfer the well-drained vegetables and shredded cheese into a blender and mix until fine. It does not have to be as fine as pesto, a little bite here and there is fine. At this stage add the lemon zest, the salt & pepper and the nutmeg. Pour the mixture onto the tart and spread towards the edges, not over the edges. Push down a little if you need to (the pastry dough may have puffed up too high).

Decorate the tart with the asparagus tops and peas and slide the tart into the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes. The vegetable-cheese-mix becomes warm, the cheese melts and the dough strips have puffed up and turn a beautiful golden.

Take the tart out of the oven, allow to rest for about 10 minutes, Then cut in squares and serve.

Enjoy!