momstown's Asparagus Gruyere Tart
Fresh, vibrant asparagus, flavourful cheese and smoky bacon combine in an easy yet elegant tart that works for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
By Kara Heald
Description
Nothing says "spring" to me more than lovely fresh, bright green asparagus. Lucky for me, my whole family loves it. This spectacular tart is a breeze to make, but looks very impressive.
The beauty of this tart is that is an option for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is absolutely scrumptious topped with an egg cooked sunny side up, but would also be a lovely accompaniment to soup and salad.
Cooking the asparagus before baking ensures it is cooked perfectly and that your pastry does not burn, and also means the entire tart will be ready in less than 30 minutes if you get the prep done in advance.
Once you make this, trust me you are going to want to make it again . . . and again! Simply delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, defrosted as per package instructions
- 1 bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed, and cooked or steamed until just fork tender
- 4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup grated gruyere cheese, plus more for sprinkling on finished tart
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- Kosher (coarse) salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning asparagus
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling on asparagus
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper to a rectangle of approximately 14" x 15", or to fit on your largest baking sheet.
- Place defrosted puff pastry onto the parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll out to a rectangle that is 10" wide and 12" to 14" long, so it fits on your baking sheet.
- Using a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1" in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Then, using a fork, pierce dough inside the markings at half-inch intervals.
- Move parchment-lined pastry on to your baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove pastry from oven. It may look very "puffy," but don't worry—the asparagus will weigh it down.
- Combine mayonnaise with dijon mustard, then brush over the inner rectangle of the tart.
- Sprinkle 1 cup of gruyere over the mayonnaise-dijon mixture.
- Top with all but 1 tbsp of bacon.
- Place prepared asparagus on tart, alternating tips with ends to create a nice pattern. You may need to trim some asparagus to fit. Note that it is ok to press down on the tart slightly so that the puff pastry settles.
- Season asparagus with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Drizzle top of asparagus with extra virgin olive oil (about 1-2 tsp).
- Place tart back into the oven for 8 minutes.
- Garnish finished tart by grating more gruyere on top, then sprinkling over the reserved 1 tbsp of bacon.
For an extra special treat, serve a slice of tart with an egg cooked sunnyside up (I like it with a slightly runny yolk—decadent!)
momstown's Kara Heald wields her spatula and her formidable kitchen expertise at Kara's Favourite Recipes
