Asparagus, goat’s cheese and herb tart

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 1 x 320g sheet ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
• 250g asparagus, woody ends trimmed
• 150g soft vegetarian goat’s cheese
• 100ml crème fraîche
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
• 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the pastry ready

Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Unroll the puff pastry onto a lined baking tray and score a border around the edge, roughly 2cm in, taking care not to cut all the way through.

Prick the centre lightly with a fork. We want the edges to puff up handsomely while the middle remains sensible enough to hold the filling.

2. Give the pastry a head start

Brush the border with beaten egg and bake for 10 minutes until just beginning to rise and colour.

Take it out of the oven and gently press the centre down with the back of a spoon if it has become overly enthusiastic. Leave the border alone – it is doing exactly what was asked of it.

3. Make the goat’s cheese filling

Put the goat’s cheese, crème fraîche, egg and Dijon mustard into a bowl and mix until mostly smooth.

Stir in the chives, parsley, thyme and lemon zest, then season with black pepper and a small pinch of salt. Go carefully with the salt, as the cheese is already bringing plenty of its own.

4. Prepare the asparagus

Put the asparagus onto a plate or tray, drizzle with the olive oil and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Toss until evenly coated.

If the spears are particularly thick, slice them in half lengthways. Thin ones can go straight onto the tart without further discussion.

5. Assemble the tart

Spread the goat’s cheese mixture evenly over the centre of the pastry, keeping inside the raised border.

Arrange the asparagus across the top in a single layer. Neat rows look very handsome, though there is no need to bring a ruler into the kitchen.

6. Bake until golden

Return the tart to the oven and bake for 18–22 minutes until the pastry is deeply golden, the filling is set and the asparagus is tender with a little bite remaining.

The cheese should be lightly bronzed in places and the whole thing should smell fresh, buttery and distinctly worth waiting for.

7. Let it settle

Leave the tart to stand for 5 minutes before slicing. This gives the filling a chance to firm slightly and makes serving considerably tidier.

8. Serve

Slice into generous pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.

A peppery rocket salad or simply dressed leaves work particularly well alongside, preferably with a little lemon in the dressing to echo the freshness of the herbs and asparagus.

A couple of helpful notes
- Check that the goat’s cheese is made with vegetarian rennet if you are serving this as a strictly vegetarian dish.
- Do not overcook the asparagus before it reaches the oven – it should still have some texture once the tart is baked.
- The tart is excellent at room temperature, making it useful for lunches, picnics or a table where everything does not need to arrive at precisely the same second.