Asparagus Goat Cheese Tart

In our home the month of May brings many celebrations, warm weather celebrations, my birthday and our wedding anniversary. This month also brought a case of food poising, lucky me. The best part, that's sarcasm, was that it was the gift of my anniversary dinner. I had so enjoyed our gourmet dinner but it apparently didn't like me too much. Luckily my husband's bedside manner is stellar and so are those activated charcoal pills he gave me. Can I just say that activated charcoal pills work wonders and you should definitely ask your Doctor about them! Anyway, now you know what I've been up to and that I wasn't abandoning my beloved Spicie Foodie nor ignoring you guys. Let's move on to the scrumptious tart pictured here.

Today I will be sharing a recipe for my Asparagus Goat Cheese Tart. Oh Asparagus, those green and white stalky veggies that bring a smile to so many. But did you know that there is also a purple variety called Crimson asparagus and a long thin wild variety? The only variety that has not found itself on my plate is the purple variety, one of these days for sure. Asparagus season begins in April and ends in June, it can be found both preserved and fresh year round in many places. Last week while reading Steen Hanssen's Deutschelicious column, at Honest Cooking, I was intrigued by his article about asparagus or spargel . There is a highly anticipated annual Spargelfest in Germany with many competitions and awards handed out. His article focused on white asparagus, I found it to be both entertaining and informative. He also shared a delicious recipe, this is the link if you're interested : http://honestcooking.com/2011/05/13/deutschlicious-german-white-asparagus-season/

Before I give you my recipe there are some things you should know. What should you know about this tart? It is delicious! It is easy to prepare, takes virtually no time. And did I mention it was delicious? Well, in case you didn't "hear" it is delicious! Seriously, I served the tart alongside a simple green salad as a light meal, perfect for warmer days. Also please notice that I used whole fat milk instead of cream. Feel free to add as much asparagus as you like and/or also cut some up to add to the filling. Enjoy!

Asparagus Goat Cheese Tart
Ingredients for 1 tart

fresh wild asparagus or commercial variety of choice
2.5 oz or 70 g goat cheese log
3 medium eggs
2/3 cup or 170 ml whole milk or cream, I used 3.5% whole fat milk
cherry tomatoes, halved as many as you like
pinch salt
pinch ground black pepper

1 ready made pastry dough ( I used commercially prepared dough)

Tart, pie mould

1. Preheat the oven to 200c or 390f . Rinse and trim the asparagus, set aside to drain excess water. Prepare the tart/pie mould by pressing the pastry dough into it, set aside. Using a fork make small incisions around the base of the pastry dough. Place in center of oven and bake for 7 minutes. In the meantime prepare the filling.

2. In a large bowl break down/crumble the goat cheese with a whisk. Pour the milk/cream and mix until the cheese has mostly broken down. Add the 3 eggs, salt and pepper and mix until well combined and eggs are a little fluffy. Pour the liquid into partially baked pastry, arrange the asparagus in a circular pattern, as many or little as you like. Add the cherry tomato halves, arranging as you like and as many as you like.

3. Bake in the center of oven for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is firm. Allow to cool before serving. Serve at room temperature or as desired.

I leave you with flowers and some great Asparagus recipes :

- Linguine with Asparagus , Letizia Golosa
- Grilled Asparagus with Haloumi, Simon Van Den Berg via Honest Cooking
- Spring Promises and Hollandaise , Things We Make
- Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus , Italian Chef
- Spicy Pork with Asparagus, Oui Chef
- Plus all of the FFWD participants like Foodiva's Kitchen & Patty's Food