by tasty traveler
31. March 2010 00:59
Welcome the freshness of Spring with this balanced and delicious tart. The creamy French-style fromage blanc is a soft farm cheese that both complements and contrasts beautifully with the crispness of the bacon and the asparagus. This is a wonderful tart to celebrate the coming of spring, Easter, Sunday brunch,and even that oh, so hectic, week night dinner. This would make a great addition to any buffet. You can also serve this as an appetizer, or a side. However, my favorite is as a quick week-night dinner servered along with a Dijon-vinieagrette salad, and a glass of wine. I highly recommend pairing it with a crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Perfection.
Ingredients:
6 slices bacon
1 shallot
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
½ pound puff pastry, thawed
8 ounces Traders Point formage blanc
salt & pepper
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium-sized frying pan, sauté the bacon over medium heat until crisp.
Transfer bacon to paper towel and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat from the pan.
2. Add the shallots to the pan and sauté for about 1 minute. Add the asparagus and cook over mediumhigh
heat until the asparagus is crisp and tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
Crumble the bacon into tiny pieces and mix it with the asparagus and shallot mix.
3. On a lightly floured piece of kitchen parchment, roll out the pastry to approximately 10 x 17 inch
rectangle. Transfer the pastry and the parchment to a large baking sheet.
4. Using either a spatula or your fingers, pat the fromage blanc onto the pastry, spreading it as evenly
as you can and leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle the asparagus, bacon and shallot
mixture evenly over the fromage blanc. Season with salt and pepper.
5. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolk and milk to make a wash. Brush the edge of the tart with the
egg wash. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve warm
6. Tip: Wine Pairing- A great wine pairing for this delicious tart would be a Sauvignon Blanc
particularly from New Zealand.
Fromage Blanc and Asparagus Tart.pdf (128.36 kb)
