Spring has SPRUNG and I wanna HAPPY DANCE!
The daffodils and tulips are popping up and showing us their bright faces and the fresh produce section of the super markets is overflowing with all the garden yummies like fresh asparagus, leeks, and onions….oh and don’t let me forget to mention how EXCITED I am to plant my garden OMG; I forget how much I love this time of year and dreaming of the days to come!
Alright, I will snap out of my day dream and get back to the blog post and my obsession with spring veggies. Last weekend, I was invited to a potluck festival and couldn’t RESIST creating something with these new gems in my fridge. I wanted to make a statement, you know, like coming out but coming out “spring” style.
Now because of the time change, (I don’t really like going forward an hour because I feel like something has hit me with a 2 x 4 for about a week), I really needed a recipe that was fabulous, fast, and easy (but still look like it took me hours 🙂 ) so, as I drank my morning coffee I remembered I had some puff pastry in my freezer and immediately it hit me…..A spring puff pastry tart with asparagus and leek! Perfecto, not only is it pretty and fast it is YUMMO!!! Just add some delicious cheeses and WHAMMO we have a masterpiece! How could I be so brilliant on 1 hour less sleep than normal? Must be a inspiration miracle!
So with this particular puff pastry tart, there really isn’t any special tricks except I do caramelize the leeks before baking because it takes the “edge” off the onion flavor even though leeks are a little sweeter, they still are from the onion family and it might not be a good idea to eat raw onion at a large gathering!
And now the technical part, I roll out 2 puff pastry sheets and fit them into a jellyroll pan. I then fold the edges and score them all around and poke the center of the pastry with a fork. After that, I lay down the cheese and then run the asparagus down the middle in a single row, line the edges with the leek, and pop it in the oven for 20-25 minutes! Honestly, it’s almost TOO easy! Oh well, so much for technical merit LOL!
Now that I have taken up a page going on and on about spring and veggies and gardens I do hope I inspired you a little bit…well at least enough to go by the grocery store and take a peek or maybe check out a garden catalog and buy some seeds…
- 2 frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
- 2 leeks, white and lt green part only, sliced
- 2 T. butter
- asiago cheese, grated
- fontina cheese, grated
- goat cheese
- sea salt
- Preheat oven to 400
- Roll out the puff pastry sheets and fit together inside a jelly roll pan and roll the edges over. Make a diagonal slit all around the edge about 1 inch apart. Prick holes in bottom of puff pastry with a fork. In a medium saucepan, heat butter and add leek. Cook until caramelized and add a little salt.
- On the bottom of puff pastry, add fontina and asiago cheese and then add dollops of goat cheese. Toss asparagus in a little olive oil and salt.
- Begin at one end of pan and down the middle, lay the asparagus. Around the border spoon the cooked leeks.
- Put in oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
