Asparagus Spring Tart

Asparagus Spring Tart

• 250g ricotta
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp mustard
• Handful of chopped parsley
• Handful of grated Parmesan
• Salt & Pepper
• 8 asparagus spears
• 4 slices of Parma ham
• Handful of pea shoots
• Vinaigrette 
• 1 sheet of ready made puff pastry  

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, parsley, lemon juice & zest, mustard, Parmesan and season with salt and pepper, mix well and set aside.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment.  Unroll the pastry and place onto the tray, you may need to trim the end as the pastry is just a bit bigger than a standard sized tray.  With a sharp knife, score the pastry 1" from the edge in a rectangular shape to create a scored border.   Using a fork, prick the pastry all over within the border (do not prick the border itself). Beat the egg yolk and with a pastry brush, coat the tart with the egg wash.  Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and place the pastry in and cook for around ten minutes, the pastry should have puffed up and have coloured slightly, and will have a raised border.  Remove from the oven and leave to settle for ten minutes then spread the cheese mixture over the pastry (not on the border).  Trim your asparagus spears to fit the tart and place them on top, tear up the Parma ham and scatter this on top and then cook in the oven for around 20-25 minutes, keep an eye though to ensure the pastry does not burn.

Once cooked, remove the tart from the oven, top with the pea shoots, some gratings of Parmesan and drizzle over a little vinaigrette.  I served this with a nice crisp salad but baby small potatoes tossed in butter would go equally as well.

This tart was so tasty, fresh and zesty from the lemon with a bit of punch from the mustard.  We are coming into asparagus season so this recipe is perfect right now however don't reserve it just for spring as you can get asparagus pretty much year round!