19 October 2010

ASPARAGUS TART WITH THREE CHEESES

Asparagus and three cheese tart Asparagus combines beautifully with cheese. Serve this tart with a crisp pastry crust filled with asparagus tips, ricotta, parmesan and feta for a lovely luncheon idea. Perfect served with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc

Serves 6-8 as a main course with a green salad

For the pastry case:

• 200g flour
• 130g butter, ice cold and cut into dice
• 25 g Parmesan, very finely grated
• 3 tablespoons ice cold water :

For the filling

• 350g asparagus spears, cut into 3-4 cm lengths
• 200g fresh white cheese such as labne, or ricotta
• 4 eggs
• Grating of nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 25g Parmesan cheese freshly grated
• 150 g crumbly feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 180°C. To make the pastry, place the flour, butter and parmesan cheese in a food processor and pulse together until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pour in the ice cold water through the feed tube with the motor running until the crumbs moisten and start to draw together (this will only take a few seconds). Turn the pastry out onto a clean bench and knead it to ensure it is smooth. Roll out in a circle to fit a 24cm loose-bottomed flan tin. Trim the edges neatly. Crush a large piece of baking paper to make it soft so it can be pushed right into the corners, and then spread it out to fill the pastry case. Fill with baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes until the pastry is a very light sand colour. Remove and cool slightly. To make the filling, blanch the asparagus in simmering salted water for 2-3 minutes, and immediately plunge into ice cold water to retain the fresh green colour. In a bowl beat the labne or ricotta with the eggs, nutmeg, salt and black pepper until smooth. Grate the Parmesan over the base of the baked pastry case. Crumble half the feta over this, then pour on the ricotta and egg mixture. Lay the asparagus pieces on top of this mixture, and finally top with the remaining feta. Return the pie to the heated oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the mixture starts to turn golden. Allow to stand a few minutes before serving with a fresh green salad.