Spring is here and that means its asparagus season. I have fond memories of going out in my mom and dad’s garden and cutting asparagus for dinner. It doesn’t get fresher than that! This year I ordered some asparagus sets so hopefully my kids can have that same experience in a few years from now.
In the meantime, I’m grabbing whatever asparagus I can find at the local farmer’s market. Its easy to make. Sometimes we toss it on the grill with some teriyaki sauce, other times just a quick simmer in some water, and finish it off with a squeeze of lemon. Tonight, I had leftover cooked asparagus that was looking to find its way into a quiche so I went searching on Food52 to see what I could find.
I plugged “asparagus” and “eggs” into the search box on the upper right corner and found 83 results. Its fun to browse the recipes and see other people posted comments on the recipes too. I discovered an Asparagus, Zucchini and Ricotta Tart and since I had most of the ingredients, including some puff pastry in my freezer, I decided to give it a go.
The recipe was a bit more complicated than ones I typically whip up. But the result was worth the work. Here’s the recipe from the Food 52 site:
Serves 6
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 pound zucchini – grated
1 1/4 teaspoon salt – divided
1 bunch asparagus – trimmed
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion – finely chopped (1 cup)
1 garlic clove – minced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 cup ricotta cheese – drained for 15 min.
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk mixed with 2 TBL water for egg wash
Place grated zucchini in colander set over large bowl. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Let drain at least 30 minutes. Working in batches, squeeze zucchini in kitchen towel to remove as much liquid as possible. It’s important that the zucchini is dry.
While the zucchini is draining, blanch the trimmed asparagus spears in boiling water for 3 minutes. Plunge into ice water to stop cooking, cool, and dry thoroughly on paper towels.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 7 minutes.
Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add zucchini and lemon juice; reduce heat to medium-low and cook until zucchini is tender, and mixture is dry, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
Whisk ricotta cheese, 1/3 cup Parmesan, egg, lemon peel, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Stir in cooled zucchini mixture.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 pastry to a 10″ x 15″ rectangle, 1/8-inch thick and transfer to baking sheet.
Trim 1 inch of pastry from each edge of the rectangle and set aside next to its edge. Wash the rectangle along each border with the egg wash, and then top with the piece of trimmed pastry, creating a raised edge. Overlap the corners.
Spread zucchini filling evenly over pastry, filling the pastry box.
Arrange the asparagus spears decoratively on the top of the filling.
Apply the egg wash to the raised borders, sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and some fleur de sel or kosher salt.
Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until puffed and golden. Let rest at least 5 minutes before serving. Can be made ahead and reheated.
