Aspargus, Goat Cheese and Tarragon Tart

Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Tarragon Tart

By Melissa Clark

Because you don’t have to make your own crust, this gorgeous asparagus-striped tart is so easy it almost feels like cheating. But it’s not. It’s just simple yet stunning, effortlessly chic and company-ready. As there are so few ingredients in this recipe that each one makes an impact, be sure to buy a good all-butter brand of puff pastry. If you can manage to serve this tart warm, within an hour of baking, it will be at its absolute best, with crisp pastry that shatters into buttery bits when you bite down and still-runny cheese. But it’s also excellent a few hours later, should you want to get all your baking done before your guests arrive. If tarragon isn’t your favorite herb, you can use chives, basil or mint instead. And if you can manage to trim all the asparagus to the same length, this tart will be especially neat and orderly looking.

 INGREDIENTS

1 cup goat cheese, at room temperature (4 ounces)

1 large egg, lightly beaten, at room temperature

1 large garlic clove, finely grated or minced

1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, plus more for serving

1/2 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup crème fraîche, at room temperature (8 ounces)

All-purpose flour, for dusting the work surface

1 sheet or square all-butter puff pastry, thawed if frozen (about 9 to 14 ounces; brands vary)

8 ounces thin asparagus, woody ends trimmed

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper

Red-pepper flakes (optional)

1 1/2 ounces Parmesan, shaved with a vegetable peeler (about 1/2 cup)

 

PREPARATION

YIELD 6 to 8 servings

TIME 1 hour

PREPARATION

YIELD 6 to 8 servings

TIME 1 hour

 

Step 1

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, use a fork or a wooden spoon to mash together the goat cheese, egg, garlic, tarragon, lemon zest, salt and nutmeg until smooth. Switch to a whisk and beat in the crème fraîche until smooth.

Step 2

On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry into a 13-by-11-inch rectangle about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a parchment lined cookie sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score a 1/2-inch border around the edges of the puff pastry.

 

Step 3

Spread the crème fraîche mixture evenly inside the scored border. Line up the asparagus spears on top, and brush them with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt and the grated Parmesan over the asparagus.

 

Step 4

Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let it cool on the cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours before serving. Then sprinkle black pepper, red-pepper flakes (if using), the

shaved Parmesan and tarragon leaves. Drizzle a little oil on top. 

 

Tip

You can assemble the tart 1 day in advance; but reserve the

sprinkling of salt and grated Parmesan until right before baking.

Loosely cover the tart and store it in the refrigerator until it's time to

bake.

 

Blackberry Crisp

 I love blackberries! This is my favorite blackberry dessert and I have been making it for years.

The Fruit

• About 4 cups of blackberries
• 1 TBSP flour
• 3 TBSP of brown or white sugar
• 1 tsp. of grated orange rind

The Topping

• 1/2 cup of unbleached white flour
• 6 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 TBSP unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss the berries with flour, sugar and orange rind. Put them in an 8-inch glass pie pan or equivalent or equivalent baking dish. 

For the topping, combine the flour, sugar, spices and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces, then work into the flour with two knives or your fingers until the small pieces begin to hold together. Distribute the topping evenly over the berries. Bake until the topping is lightly browned and the juices have risen around the edges, about 30-40 minutes. Serve with whipping cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves four

Pisco Sour

After a trip to Peru in June where the cocktail of the day (every day) was a Pisco sour, I was craving the cocktail at home. I found some Peruvian Pisco at Hazel's in Boulder, Co. Here's the recipe with a little history.

Chile and Peru bicker fiercely over the Pisco Sour’s origin (and that of pisco, too), but by most accounts, the drink’s genesis is tied to a United States citizen. Expat bartender Victor Morris is believed to have concocted the frothy, smooth cocktail at his Lima bar around 1915 or perhaps the early 1920s. Blending pisco, lime juice, egg white and Angostura bitters, the Pisco Sour is earthy, sweet and tart—a cocktail worth fighting over.

Pisco is a grape-distilled spirit that was first made in the 16th century. Piscos vary in style and grape variety, with different expressions ranging in flavor from dry and earthy to floral and fruity. The Pisco Sour doesn’t call for a particular pisco, so enterprising drinkers can experiment to find which they prefer.

Spirit, citrus, sugar and egg white are the core ingredients in a good sour, including the popular Whiskey Sour. But one small difference that’s become emblematic of the Pisco Sour is its inclusion of Angostura bitters. The aromatic bitters, which are usually applied as a garnish, add color and fragrance to the cocktail. Those bitters sit on the drink’s fluffy head, a trait achieved by dry-shaking the cocktail. That means shaking it first without ice to incorporate the liquid ingredients with the egg white before shaking it again with ice to provide chill and dilution.The result is a delicious cocktail with a silky mouthfeel that can provide refreshment whether you’re hiking in the Andes or drinking on the beach.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces pisco
• 1 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup
• 1 egg white
• Garnish: Angostura bitters

Steps

1.      Add pisco, lime juice, simple syrup and egg white into a shaker and dry-shake (without ice) vigorously.

2.      Add ice and shake again until well-chilled.

3.      Strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. (Alternatively, you can strain it into a rocks glass over fresh ice.)

4.      Garnish with 3 to 5 drops of Angostura bitters. Using a straw, toothpick or similar implement, swirl the bitters into a simple design, if desired.

Citrus Endive Salad

 I was looking in the frig to see what I had to make a salad. Endive and a grapefruit and that reminded me that I wanted to try to repeat a grilled endive citrus salad that I had at 108. While looking online for a recipe that had grapefruit and endive, I came across something on Real Simple that I ended up making. It was refreshing in two ways: the bright citrus flavor and making a salad that was new to me. I made slight modifications to the original version.

Yields: 2 large servings or 4 dinner sized salads

Ingredients

3-6 heads of Belgian endive, trimmed and halved crosswise

1-2 cups of grapefruit segments, separated from the membrane

1/4 cup pistachios

2 oz, goat cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 tablespoons of honey

Directions

Arrange endive, grapefruit segments and pistachios on a serving platter. Top with goat cheese, mint and salt. Drizzle with olive oil and honey.