Asparagus, Cheese and Pumpkin Seed Tart
This Asparagus, Cheese & Pumpkin Seed Tart jumped off the page of the Waitrose Food Magazine I had picked up during my grocery shop. The recipe was created by Georgina Hayden, a London based food writer, cook and presenter. This vegetarian tart is bursting with Superfoods; asparagus and pumpkin seeds, and I was keen to try it out immediately, so I popped it onto the huge pile of recipe notebooks and ripped out magazine pages and….. immediately turned out to be about 3 years later, when we were moving house and I was forced to organise and pack all those random bits of paper..
My version doesn’t look much like the Asparagus, Cheese and Pumpkin Seed Tart in the magazine, and I can see why. The tart image in the magazine has been stylised to photograph better and specifically highlight the asparagus and the pumpkin seed. In actual fact, the recipe calls for the cheese to be sprinkled over the entire tart, including the edges and once again, over the asparagus. So, don’t expect your tart to turn out like the image, but do expect it to taste and look amazing.
This tart is easy to put together. Recently, someone was around in the late afternoon and it was reaching that particular time of day when one would enjoy a chilled glass of wine. I was a bit peckish and thought I needed to have some food to serve if I was about to pop the cork on a bottle of rose. A quick survey in the pantry and I saw a jar of asparagus, another of pumpkin seeds and I knew I had a roll of puff pastry in the fridge. Voila! Jarred asparagus works with this recipe, but only in a pinch, and expect the texture to be a bit mushy. However, using fresh asparagus is always best.
Quick, easy, gorgeous and bursting with Superfoods, Asparagus, Cheese and Pumpkin Seed Tart is my go-to recipe. Try it for yourself; I think you’ll love it.
*Picture taken from the Waitrose magazine
Asparagus, Cheese & Pumpkin Seed Tart
Equipment
- Electronic digital scales
- Baking Tray
- Box grater or similar
- Pastry Brush optional
- Cooling tray/rack optional
Ingredients
- 1 320 g sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
- 3 Tablespoon Creme Fraiche or soured cream
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 Large Egg, beaten
- 40g Gruyere Cheese, grated
- 40g Pecorino, finely grated
- 400g Fresh Asparagus
- 1 Unwaxed lemon, zested
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 15g Pumpkin Seeds handful
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7. Unroll the pastry sheet onto a baking tray and score a border 2cm in from the edge.
- Mix the crème fraîche and mustard together and spread it over the pastry, inside the border.
- Brush the border with the beaten egg. Evenly sprinkle the Gruyère over the crème fraîche mixture. Sprinkle ²⁄³ of the pecorino over the whole tart, including the egg-washed edge.
- Snap off the woody stems of asparagus and set aside [Note 1], then put the trimmed asparagus in a mixing bowl and sprinkle over the lemon zest; season and drizzle over the olive oil. Toss together well, then arrange the asparagus over the filling. Finish by sprinkling over the remaining pecorino and the pumpkin seeds.
- Bake for 25 minutes until golden, risen around the edges and cooked through. Place on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before serving. [Note 2]
Notes
