Asparagus tart is springtime comfort food

Mother Nature is playing jokes on us this week, luring us with warm weather and then dusting us with snow. April tends to be this way, so the transition of winter to spring can be a bit of a slow one. This week’s recipe pairs spring’s vegetable, asparagus, with a lovely buttery puff pastry and a couple of cheeses to make for a lovely side dish or light lunch.

Puff pastry is a rich, decadent base for this amazing tart. Search for an all-butter puff pastry in the freezer section, if you can find one. Whole Foods carries DuFour, which is an all-butter version, but even Pepperidge Farm makes a tasty one that isn’t all-butter but is more widely available at places like Dillons. Trader Joe’s carries an all-butter puff pastry, but only at the holidays. I’m making a note to stock up this holiday season.

Since the base is pretty much flaky pastry perfection, adding a couple of cheeses, plus tarragon, lemon zest and asparagus makes it even better. This tart is simple enough to throw together for a weeknight dinner, and you can serve it for lunch with a nice leafy green salad with a vinaigrette to balance the rich tart. If your husband (or wife or friend) is like mine and cannot stand the thought of a meal without meat, you could add some prosciutto to the tart either before or after baking it. I actually prefer prosciutto unbaked. It keeps the prosciutto flavor intact.

Slowly but surely, we will make our way into true spring weather. And while we do so, recipes like this week’s will keep our comfort food cravings satisfied and give us a bit of hope for warmer days.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Tarragon Tart

1 cup goat cheese, at room temperature (4 ounces)

1 large egg, lightly beaten, at room temperature

1 large garlic clove, finely grated or minced

1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, plus more for serving

½ tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup crème fraiche, at room temperature (8 ounces)

All-purpose flour, for dusting the work surface

1 sheet or square all-butter puff pastry, thawed if frozen (about 9 to 14 ounces; brands vary)

8 ounces thin asparagus, woody ends trimmed

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper

Red pepper flakes (optional)

1½ ounces Parmesan, shaved with a vegetable peeler (about ½ cup)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, use a fork or a wooden spoon to mash together the goat cheese, egg, garlic, tarragon, lemon zest, salt and nutmeg until smooth. Switch to a whisk and beat in the crème fraiche until smooth.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry into a 13-by-11-inch rectangle about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined cookie sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score a ½-inch border around the edges of the puff pastry.

Spread the crème fraiche mixture evenly inside the scored border. Line up the asparagus spears on top, and brush them with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt and the grated Parmesan over asparagus.

Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let it cool on the cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours before serving. Then sprinkle black pepper, red-pepper flakes (if using), the shaved Parmesan and tarragon leaves. Drizzle a little oil on top.

—cooking.newyorktimes.com

This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 2:23 PM.