Tart with Asparagus and Local Cheese

June is asparagus season in Alberta and ChefGail's favourite farmer Edgar Farms from Innisfail in Central Alberta, produces some of the sweetest on the planet.

Course Appetizer, Main Course
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • ½ package Puff Pastry, thawed (try President's Choice at Superstore—it's great!)
  • Flour for rolling out pastry
  • 2 cups Shredded Sylvan Star Gouda or The Cheeisry's Pecorino
  • 1 ½ lb. Fresh Asparagus (25 to 30 spears) trimmed if necessary
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • to taste Coarse Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

  2. Sprinkle flour on work surface and roll out pastry to 10” x 16” rectangle.

  3. Trim if uneven and place on cookie sheet.

  4. Lightly score the edges with a knife, 1” from the edge.

  5. Piece the dough with a fork about ½” apart and bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden.

  6. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and sprinkle pastry with the shredded cheese.

  7. Place spears along the pastry, alternating the tips. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

  8. Bake until spears are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Hopefully we’ll still have the gorgeous Mediterranean vegetable until mid-July. The family has been grown asparagus plants since the 80′s and now has 50 miles of continuous rows that is harvested by hand! No need to break off the steams of this produce — it is cut above ground so all of the stalk is green and tender.