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Asparagus & Wild Garlic Tart
Planning a spring picnic? Pack up slices of this home-made quiche, which showcases new season asparagus baked in a wild garlic flecked sauce enriched with cheese. Whether it's lunch in the garden or an al fresco adventure, this tart will hit the mark.
Ingredients
- 300g all butter shortcrust pastry
- Plain flour, for dusting
- 400g asparagus
- 50g wild garlic
- 80g mature cheddar
- 40g vegetarian Italian hard cheese
- 3 eggs
- 400ml double cream
Prep: 30 mins + chilling | Cook: 50 mins
Method
1. Remove your pastry from the fridge a few minutes before rolling out. Dust your work surface with a little flour. Using a rolling pin, roll your pastry as thin as possible to a size and shape that will cover your tart tin. We used a 30cm x 20cm rectangular shallow tin, but a 24cm shallow, round tart tin will also work well.
2. Lay the pastry inside the tin and gently press it into the sides. Trim any excess pastry and set to one side to patch any holes later, if necessary. Pop the lined tart tin into the freezer for 1 hr or in the fridge for 4 hrs. This will help stop the pastry from shrinking.
3. When you're ready to bake your tart, preheat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Place a large sheet of baking paper on top of the pastry and fill with ceramic baking beans, or dried rice, lentils or barley. Slide the tart case into the oven to blind bake for 15 mins.
4. While the tart case is baking, bring a large pan of water to a bubble. Snap the woody ends from the asparagus (save these for adding to home-made vegetable stock). Drop the asparagus tips into the boiling water and cook for 2 mins. Lift the asparagus out into a bowl of ice cold water.
5. Using the same water, drop in the wild garlic. Blanch it for 30 secs, then tip into a sieve and rinse under cold water. Squeeze the excess water from the wild garlic, roughly chop it and set to one side.
6. Grate the cheddar and Italian cheese, keeping them separate. Crack the eggs into a large jug and beat well till combined. Add the double cream with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Add the chopped wild garlic, half the cheddar and half the Italian cheese. Mix well.
7. Remove the tart from the oven and carefully lift out the baking paper and tip the ceramic beans back into their pot. If there are any small holes in the pastry, patch them with the pastry trimmings. Pop the tart back into the oven to bake for 10 mins till it's golden and crisp.
8. Remove the tart case from the oven. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar over the base of the tart. Arrange the blanched asparagus spears in the tart, then pour over the cream and wild garlic mix. Scatter over the remaining Italian cheese.
9. Slide the tart into the oven to bake for 20-25 mins till the filling is light golden, slightly puffed and wobbles when you gently shake the tart. Leave to cool for a few mins in the tin before transferring to a serving plate. Serve warm or cold with salad leaves and a potato salad.
10. Eat Me, Keep Me
This tart is best eaten on the day it's baked, but it will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, well wrapped, and can be enjoyed cold.
This tart is best eaten on the day it's baked, but it will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, well wrapped, and can be enjoyed cold.
11. Make It Seasonal
Wild garlic is the perfect partner for the first flush of asparagus in the spring. When the wild garlic season is over, you can replace it with a large handful of chopped soft herbs such as mint, dill, parsley, chives or chervil.
Wild garlic is the perfect partner for the first flush of asparagus in the spring. When the wild garlic season is over, you can replace it with a large handful of chopped soft herbs such as mint, dill, parsley, chives or chervil.
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