Asparagus Gruyere Tart

I love asparagus and I really like Gruyere cheese so this was an awesome side dish for me. I made this instead of 2 separate side dishes one night with dinner and I liked that it’s light and filling. As you’ll see below I wasn’t paying attention when reading the recipe and making it, mainly because I was distracted with my parents being here at the time. Never the less it’s really good and I would make this again for a dinner party appetizer cut up in smaller pieces.

Asparagus Gruyere Tart
(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

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Flour, for work surface 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
5 1/2 ounces (2 cups) Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 1/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges.

Place pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork, pierce dough inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals.

Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

Remove pastry shell from oven, and sprinkle with Gruyere. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over Gruyere, alternating ends and tips. Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. (Since I wasn’t paying attention I sprinkled half of the cheese on under the asparagus and half after. I also liked the way they looked all pointed the same way.)

Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

*Store-bought puff pastry works well in this savory tart; thaw it according to package instructions. Emmentaler or Fontina cheese can be substituted for the Gruyere.