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Asparagus and Emmentaler Tart

Asparagus and Emmentaler Tart-5

Asparagus season has been present for a few months now and I’ve seen the stacks of beautiful, green stalks in the shops and have even succumbed to their power. Of course, they are not local to Colorado because our growing season has barely begun, but they’re from the warmer climes of California and Mexico.

Asparagus and Emmentaler Tart-2

I am sometimes envious of the States that have farmers markets year around which provide a fairly decent bounty even in the midst of winter. Then I step outside and see The Rockies and I’m no longer envious 🙂 I’ll eat the occasional fruit or vegetable from California if it means I can look upon the mountains on my daily travels.

Asparagus and Emmentaler Tart-6

So, you can imagine my excitement when I received Isabelle Farm’s weekly email about what is  available at the farm stand that weekend and found asparagus on the list! “Down the road from me” grown asparagus, you cannot get fresher or more local than that. I was eager to get there and get some before they ran out so I got up early on Saturday and raced down. I grabbed a few bunches of the beautiful stalks and a couple of bags of their over wintered spinach. Let me tell you how sweet this spinach is, it is pretty amazing, and it will be in a post very soon.

Asparagus

Back to this gorgeous, fresh, seasonal and extremely local asparagus; I didn’t want to mess with it too much but at the same time I didn’t want to do just Hollandaise (Sorry Francesca 🙂 )It had to be something that showcased the asparagus, simply but elegantly. 

My mind wandered back to a tart in one of my old Gourmet cookbooks. I had always been quite taken by this tart because for one, I like tarts and this particular one is made with white asparagus and that had always intrigued me. My asparagus weren’t white but I loved how this tart was simple and flavourful from the addition of good Swiss cheese. They used Gruyere but I went with Emmentaler.

Asparagus and Emmentaler Tart-3

The Asparagus and Emmentaler Tart was quite amazing. The asparagus was so sweet and tender and the Emmentaler added just the right amount of cheesiness and flavour. The crust is great too since it is a cross between a regular pastry and a puff pastry; very flaky, tender and soft inside. It takes a little bit of work but it’s worth the result. Check out my post on puff pastry if you have a hard time visualising the instructions for the pastry.

Asparagus and Emmentaler Tart-1

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Asparagus and Emmentaler Tart

Serving size: 6

Calories: 761

Fat: 57g

A crisp and flaky tart filled with Emmentaler cheese and creamy custard topped with fresh asparagus.
Ingredients
Black Pepper and Sour Cream Pastry
  • 2¼ cups/325g all propose/plain flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • 2 sticks/225g cold, unsalted butter, cut in small cubes
  • 3 tablespoons sour cream
  • 3-4 tablespoons ice water, more if needed
Filling and Topping
  • 1 cup/235ml heavy cream (double cream)
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1¼ cups/150g shredded Emmentaler cheese
  • 1 pound/455g fresh asparagus
Instructions
Pastry
  1. In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, salt, sugar and the black pepper, and pulse a few times to mix.
  2. Add the cold butter cubes and process until the butter is the size of peas and incorporated into the flour.
  3. Tip the flour butter mixture onto a clean counter.
  4. Add the sour cream to 3 tablespoons water and mix.
  5. Drizzle the liquid over the flour butter mixture.
  6. Using hands and a pastry scraper, mix the dough gently.
  7. Add more water if the dough is too dry and won't come together.
  8. It will be a little sticky but use the scraper and fold the dough onto itself,
  9. Keep repeating until the dough comes together.
  10. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a small rectangle and fold into letter trifold.
  11. Turn the dough and roll again into a rectangle and fold again.
  12. One more time and then wrap the dough and chill for at least an hour.
  13. When the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and roll it out.
  14. You can roll it in a circle or a rectangle like I did.
  15. Place the dough on a lightly floured counter to start and then on a piece of parchment to finish rolling.
  16. Roll out into a rectangle measuring 11" by 15" (28 cm x 38 cm)
  17. Fold an inch around the edges to make a rim about ½ inch high.
  18. Pierce with a fork all over the surface.
  19. Place on a baking sheet and chill for an hour or so.
  20. When ready to assemble tart, pre bake the tart shell.
  21. Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.
  22. Take out the chilled dough and line the top with foil or parchment and fill with beans or pie weights.
  23. Bake the dough for 20 minutes.
  24. After 20 minutes, remove the pie weights or beans and place the tart shell back in the oven.
  25. Bake for another 10 minutes to until the tart shell is lightly brown.
  26. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Filling and Topping
  1. Prepare the asparagus by trimming the bottom hard stalks.
  2. Bring a pan of water to boil, salt the water.
  3. Add the asparagus and blanch for about 8 minutes until tender but not mushy.
  4. Have a bowl of ice water ready to cool down the asparagus.
  5. Once cool, dry off the stalks and prepare the filling.
  6. In a bowl, mix the heavy cream, the eggs, salt and nutmeg,
  7. Pour the filling into the cooled tart shell.
  8. Add ⅔ of the shredded cheese over the custard.
  9. Place the asparagus on top of the custard and sprinkle the remaining cheese.
  10. Place in a 375F/190C oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the custard is set.
  11. Turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes to brown the top of the tart.
  12. Serve warm or room temperature.
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Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was my husband’s birthday on Saturday and so we had a nice family celebration. I made him a cake which I will share in a couple of weeks; it is quite delicious, if I do say so myself 🙂

Wishing you a great week ahead!


Comments

  6. Beautiful Nazneen. I’m such a fan of Emmentaler cheese. And I’m with you, I never take for granted that beautiful view of our Mountains. We’re so fortunate. And best of all, thanks so much for the link to that stand. I’ve always been envious of the farm stands that you enjoy up North. We don’t see them on this end of town…DARNIT.
    Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) recently posted..Chipotle Shrimp WontonsMy Profile

  7. I love your photography! I can’t stand overly composed food photos because I feel like they don’t look natural. I truly believe that if the food is good, it will shine through in the photograph 🙂
    I’ve never eaten asparagus before (typical Desi, I know lol), but it’s such a great idea to use it in a tart covered with delicious cheese!
    Henna recently posted..Coffee Flavored Cake With Coffee Buttercream FrostingMy Profile

  9. Somehow I missed this post, Nazneen. I think I thought I’d seen it because I saw it on FB and Instagram. At the moment we have asparagus in our stores imported from the US. It looks a lot better than the stuff that’s normally imported from Peru. It will be a while before local asparagus is in our stores. Anyway, enough about me! I love the look of this tart. It’s gorgeous and I think green asparagus gives the tart much better colour than the white. I think the cream and the cheese with the asparagus is a delicious combination. Your tart is beautiful! xx
    Hotly Spiced recently posted..In My Kitchen, May 2014My Profile

  13. I usually buy puff pastry from the store; however, your name of the tart “Black Pepper and Sour Cream Pastry” makes me want to try… sounds so delicious!! It’s a perfect tart to put my favorite asparagus on to make this delicious savory tart!

  15. Ok thank you, did you cut that first slice for me? Gorgeous tart and I bet it is so rich and delicious with the cheese. Asparagus is in prime season and this is a great dish to celebrate spring. I’m hosting a little gathering next week and this is a great idea. So pinning this one! Take care, BAM
    Bam’s Kitchen recently posted..Tex Mex Ahi and Cheesy Rice TamalesMy Profile

    • Thanks Mireya! I too love rustic tarts… But I’m a sucker for tart pans too 🙂

  22. First of all, I hope your Husband has a very happy birthday and a wonderful year ahead, Nazneen.
    Now, this is one beautiful tart! Love that there’s a bit of pepper in the sour cream pastry. That little “bite” from the pepper is something I’d really enjoy. I love, too, the filling and use of Emmentaler cheese, not to mention the asparagus. Our farmers markets open this weekend and I’m so looking forward to getting out and buying a few bunches of the green spears. If the markets are open, warm weather has to be on its way, right? Right? 🙂
    ChgoJohn recently posted..A Tale of Two PizzasMy Profile

    • Thank you, John. I think he had a great birthday. Emmentaler went really well with the cream and then the delicate asparagus was just gorgeous on top. Can’t wait till our farmers markets get going with local produce!

  23. This tart looks absolutely scrumptious!! Asparagus is the one thing that flourishes in my Aussie garden, so I have many plants. Can’t wait for Spring so I can make a version of your beautiful tart. 🙂
    Krista recently posted..Mid-DreamMy Profile

  24. We’ve got asparagus season here at the moment – both green and white and I’m told they are both grown locally. Who knows. I’ve been blanching the white stems and drizzling with truffle oil – not very fancy I know but we fight over it. I do love your tart though – emmental is a lovely match with the asparagus.

  26. This looks amazing and I totally want it! I think heavy cream and cheese mightily persuades me! My friend grows asparagus in her backyard. We used to have some but they died out. Often when walking the Highline canal you can also see wild asparagus growing. But now you have me thinking of this flaky crust laden with cheese and cream and oh yeah-asparagus! Happy Birthday to your hubs!
    Abbe@This is How I Cook recently posted..Macaroons, Version 2 and Hot Times in the DesertMy Profile

    • Abbe, this tart was SO good! You simply must try it. The cream and the cheese have a lot to do with it 🙂 But the asparagus was splendid too.

  27. Asparagus is my favorite vegetable for sure. Ours is two years old in the garden, so have to wait one more year. I will try this tart and let you know. Thanks for the help!

  29. I love asparagus season and just had some last evening from our local grower – purple asparagus! I have not made a tart like this but am seriously considering it now that I see yours, Nazneen! I also have to check out your pastry recipe… I am so glad you make your own!
    David recently posted..Haute Dogs: Hot Cuisine!My Profile

    • Thanks David! Isn’t really fresh asparagus wonderful? Tastes so sweet and so different from store bought. Let me know if you try out the puff pastry!

  30. This looks divine, Nazneen! I am a huge asparagus lover and being able to get them in season is a treat. In fact, I just made farro risotto last night with asparagus and peas. : ) I’ve made a tart like this once before, with caramelized onions (the time it took to make the onions deterred me from making it again, I think). I wish I’d used emmentaler cheese…it sounds so good!
    Monica recently posted..Chocolate-amaretto gelatoMy Profile

    • Caramelised onion tarts are my favourite! I bet it was fantastic!! This is incredibly good too, especially if you can get some local asparagus.

    • Oh I wish I was there for British asparagus. They must be pretty awesome! These were great, they’re grown just down the road from me so I was thrilled there’s so local.

  34. Hi, Nazneen! This savory tart looks terrific. It is really showcasing the asparagus and all the deliciousness of the Emmental cheese. With the gorgeous view of the Rocky Mountains, you don’t need to be jealous from anyone else for sure. I wish I had that view. 🙂

    Have an awesome week and please, say ‘hi’ to your family for us.
    Denise Browning@From Brazil To You recently posted..Cocada de Leite Condensado (Brazilian Coconut Bars)My Profile

    • Thanks Denise! Yeah, I’m lucky to love here, I count my blessings everyday, my love to your family also.

  37. Dear Nazneen, these asparagus tarts are always amazing aren´t they – we are literally drowning in white asparagus around here and I would love to send you some, if I could – it is quite nice in combination with green asparagus on tarts like this.
    Looking forward to your participation in the CCC – this is going to be a fun group (and we will all be so happy eating all these vegetables…)
    Take good care of yourself and have a great day!
    Andrea
    TheKitchenLioness recently posted..The Cottage Cooking ClubMy Profile

    • Oh Andrea, now I am jealous!! We hardly see white here and if we do it’s at the specialty shops and very expensive. I’m trying to find the book, it’s proving to be difficult! I’ll keep looking. I hope I can do it, I hate to start something and then not see it through because I get so busy. I’ll let you know!

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