Asparagus, Smoked Salmon & Goat's Cheese Spring Tart

It’s been grey and gloomy and windy… SO of course, I decided to pull Spring out of the bag today!!

This easy peasy puff pastry tart really gets your taste buds tingling and reminding you of just that time of year when you can almost feel the fresh grass under your feet… the warm yet still crisp air on your face… that perfect picnic weather… it’s coming, I tell you!!

Asparagus, smoked salmon & Goat's cheese tart — Asparagus, smoked salmon & Goat’s cheese tart

This just happened to dawn on my the other morning… I was home, working on recipes for classes etc… it was Monday… dull… usual… so I needed to do something to turn things around… I found a roll of puff pastry in the fridge and thought, hmmm.. a tart is in store… And you know how I love puff pastry… any pastry is awesome… but this is even more awesome because of it’s pure EASE…

salmon & Goat's cheese tart — Asparagus, smoked salmon & Goat’s cheese tart

The green.. the dill.. it just adds that kick of colour… the asparagus, even though green and lovely, gets hidden in a warm blanket of cheesy, yet still fresh, cheese and creme fraiche combination…

Trim your asparagus, break off the ends, and blanche them for a couple of minutes

Bake the pastry for 8-10 minutes before you start placing the fillings in it... — Bake the pastry for 8-10 minutes before you start placing the fillings in it…

start with sliced smoked salmon as your base

combine an egg with creme fraiche, dijon mustard and cream cheese

pour the egg mixture into the base and then tuck the asparagus into it before baking in the oven

Asparagus,smoked salmon & Goat’s cheese tart….

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

1 roll of ready to roll puff pastry
about 8 asparagus spears, trimmed and blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes
1 pack of smoked salmon, about 200 gm
1 egg, free range
3 tablespoonds creme fraiche
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cream cheese, with or without herbs
1 tablespoon tarragon
goats cheese

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.
Line a tart pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
roll the puff pastry out quite thinly and place on the tray. Prick all over with a fork then place in the oven for about 8 minutes until it starts crisping up.
Meanwhile, combine the egg, cfeme fraiche, mustard and cream cheese, beat until smooth. Add the fresh chopped tarragon and season to taste. Set aside.
Remove the pastry from the oven. You will notice tht it has puffed up quite a bit so just press it down gently.
Place the chopped smoked salmon on the base.
then pour in the egg mixture keeping a few tablespoons aside.
Tuck the aparagus spears into the mixture and then cover with remaining egg mixture.
Bake for a futher 20 minutes until pale golden
At this point, break some small pieces of goats cheese up and sprinkle them across the top of the tart and bake for another 5 minutes.
Remove, Allow to cool slightly before you serve.
Serve it with a light green salad or just on its own.

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