Asparagus Goat Cheese Tart

This recipe and photos were provided by Sally Roeckell of Table and Dish and were originally published at 365Barrington.com.

It’s the first day of spring and, with the new season, I find myself looking to fill my grocery bag with anything green. I’ve been working my way through the produce section, trying to make my dishes as colorful as possible to contrast with the gray days we’ve been having. With its bright green asparagus and sunny-side-up eggs, this Asparagus Goat Cheese Tart screams Springtime, so that’s what I’m Cooking with Heinen’s this week!

This dish is a perfect take-along for brunch or even a side dish or dinner. Don’t let the egg fool you…they’re not just for breakfast! The blend of cheese with the flaky puff pastry crust and the delicious rich yolk of the eggs pair perfectly with the asparagus.

I’ve made this dish several ways. It’s versatile and you can change it up to your own tastes. I like to blanch the asparagus just for a few seconds so that they are al dente. Be careful, you don’t want overcooked asparagus.

Because every oven is different, it’s hard to say exactly how long to cook this tart. The recipe calls for putting the raw egg over the asparagus and baking it. I find you have to keep a watchful eye on the egg as it cooks.Even in my own oven, sometimes it takes a little longer to cook the egg white. *Gauge your own cooking skills and if you think it would be easier to prepare sunny-side-up in a frying pan and simply lay on top of the tart, that works, too.

Asparagus Goat Cheese Tart

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of Puff Pastry
• 1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded (use Swiss if you can’t find Gruyere)
• 2 oz. Goat Cheese, crumbled
• 15 Asparagus Spears
• 2-3 Large Eggs
• 2 wedges of Lemon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. On a piece of parchment paper roll thawed puff pastry into a rectangle.
3. Use a knife to lightly score a small rectangle shape into the dough (don’t go all the way through!).
4. Prick the inside of the drawn rectangle with a fork. This will make the edge puff up and leave the center lower.
5. Brush the outer edge of the dough with egg whites.
6. Place it on a baking sheet and put it in the oven to bake for 10 minutes.
7. While the pastry bakes wash and trim about 15 asparagus spears (or however many you will need to cover the puff pastry).
8. Soften the asparagus slightly by either blanching them for 1-2 minutes or steaming them.
9. After 10 minutes of baking pull the puff pastry from the oven and add the Gruyere cheese and goat cheese.
10. Lay the asparagus spears on the cheese.
11. Crack 2-3 eggs over the asparagus, being careful not to break the yolk (you can skip this part if you don’t like baked eggs)*.
12. Place the tart back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes.
13. When the crust is golden brown and the egg whites have cooked, the tart is ready.
14. Squeeze lemon over the tart and then cut and serve.

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try and let us know what you think by posting a picture of your Asparagus Goat Cheese Tart with the #CookingWithHeinens hashtag on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Enjoy!