Serves: 4
This is the quickest, easiest tart ever; you don’t even have to pre-cook the asparagus.
Ingredients
For the cheese pastry
- 110g unsalted butter
- 140g plain flour
- 30g strong Cheddar or Parmesan, grated
For the filling
- 1 bunch of asparagus, with the woody ends
- cut off
- 100g Parmesan, grated
- 200ml double cream
- 2 eggs, plus 2 extra yolks
- Salt and pepper
Directions
1Put all the ingredients for the pastry into a food processor and mix until the dough forms a ball. Press the dough into a 20cm tart tin with a removable base. Prick really thoroughly all over, even up the sides (this will prevent shrinkage), then chill in the fridge.
2Cook the pastry in an oven preheated to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4 for 15 minutes or until pale gold in colour.
3Mix the cream, eggs and cheese in a bowl and season well.
4Arrange the uncooked asparagus in the tart tin. I do it in a wheel shape, cutting the tops off so that the stems fit, and then sprinkling the tops amongst the ‘spokes’, but you can place the asparagus in rows if you prefer.
5Pour over the cream mixture and bake the tart at 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4 for about 40 minutes.
Taken from our sister magazine France Today
