You'll love this quick asparagus puff pastry tart! Made with a creamy cracked pepper and cottage cheese filling, and pickled red onions and olives on top!
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I love that I can make this flaky puff pastry asparagus tart in minutes, using store-bought dough. Then fill it with creamy cottage cheese and roasted asparagus. It's a crowd pleaser!
I partnered with Hood Cottage Cheese to create recipes using their new flavor, Hood Cottage Cheese with Cracked Pepper!
Cottage cheese is a pretty versatile food, and there are many flavors to choose from. We all know cottage cheese is a great snack, but do you use it to its full potential? It's such a great addition to appetizers, main dishes and sides!
I knew I wanted a creamy filling for my asparagus puff pastry, and cottage cheese was the perfect addition. You can also use ricotta if you'd like a swap.
You can find Hood Cottage Cheese in your city here.
Asparagus Tart Recipe Ingredients
- Store-bought puff pastry and an egg.
- Cottage cheese or ricotta.
- Asparagus, red onions and herbs.
- Kalamata olives.
- Pantry staples like olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Store-bought frozen puff pastry is the base of this asparagus tart.
For the filling, I love the fresh, slight tang that cottage cheese adds to this tart.
Roasting the asparagus sweetens it even more than it is already, and the salt and pepper gives it a pleasant savory flavor. It's perfect and beautiful on top of Hood's creamy cottage cheese.
To top off the tart, I made an herb vinaigrette heavy with sliced red onions. The onions pickle just slightly in the vinegar and become extra savory-sweet.
Salty olives are the finishing touch to this delicious flatbread.
Ingredient Spotlight: Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese is an American term, but the technique of making it came from Europe's farmhouses. Fresh, slightly acidic cottage cheese curds in a naturally soured milk.
How Is Cottage Cheese Made?
Adding an acid to milk is what causes the separation of the milk solids and whey when making cottage cheese. The culture added produces lactic acid which forms the curds.
After the curds are formed, the whey is drained. The curds are cooked to release all the whey and then rinsed and salted.
Now have fun adding cottage cheese to your everyday recipes. I even use it in my desserts!
How to Make Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart
Prepared puff pastry is kept in the freezer section of the grocery store. I let it thaw at room temperature for a few minutes and then unfold a piece to use it.
Here are the basic steps for preparing this easy asparagus appetizer:
- Unfold the thawed puff pastry
- Roll it out on a lightly floured work surface and transfer to a sheet of parchment paper
- Trim to the preferred shape
- If making a border, cut strips and adhere to the base with an egg wash or water
- Dock or prick the inside with a fork to keep it from puffing too much
- Brush edges with egg wash to make it bake shiny
- Slide parchment onto a baking sheet and bake puff pastry until golden brown.
- Cool and fill with cottage cheese filling and top with roasted asparagus and olives.
Can This Recipe Be Made in Advance?
The puff pastry crust may be baked up to a day in advance. However, you'll need to wait to fill and serve the asparagus tart when close to the serving time.
Ways to Serve Asparagus Tart
This would make an excellent asparagus side dish recipe (alongside a bowl of soup, for instance! Or, serve the tart:
- For brunch
- As a side dish
- With a salad
- As a midday meal
- As an appetizer
Tips for Making an Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart
- Do not fill the tart far in advance, otherwise the puff pastry crust will become soggy.
- I love the saltiness the olives add to the creamy cottage cheese filling, but you may omit or substitute them if desired.
- Look for vibrant green stalks of asparagus that are thinner in size. Thick asparagus stalks have a woody, chewy texture.
More Puff Pastry Recipes:
- Ham and Gruyere Mini Turnovers
- Mini Tomato Tarts
- Posh Piggies Gameday Snacks
- Pancetta and Caramelized Onion Tart
More Spring Appetizers:
- Italian Potato Salad
- Crunchy Chicken Noodle Salad
- Baby Lamb Chops with Dipping Sauces
- Spring Veggie Tarts
Let me know how it went!
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Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart
Ingredients
Red Onion Dressing:
- ¼ cup sherry or balsamic vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (any mix of basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram or parsley)
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ½ cup sliced red onion
Tart Crust:
- ½ a package puff pastry (17.3 ounces)
- 1 egg
- Kosher salt and pepper
Filling:
- 1 bunch (1 pound) asparagus
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 1½ cups Hood Cottage Cheese with Cracked Pepper
- ¼ cup sliced kalamata olives
Instructions
- Make Dressing: In a bowl whisk together the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Add the herbs and olive oil and whisk well. Stir in red onions and set aside.
- Heat oven to 400°F. Beat egg with 1 tablespoon of water and set aside.
- Unfold one pastry sheet onto a lightly floured work surface, and using a rolling pin, roll it into a 14-by-11-inch rectangle. transfer rectangle to a sheet of parchment.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut ½-inch strips from each side. Brush the edges of the pastry rectangle with egg wash. Trim strips to fit perfectly on top of the pastry rectangle. Place strips on edge of tart. Slide the tart with parchment onto a baking sheet then prick it inside the border several times with a fork.
- Brush the border with beaten egg and sprinkle with kosher salt and cracked pepper, if desired.
- Bake it for about 13 to 14 minutes, or until light golden brown. remove it from the oven and cool.
- While pastry cooks, trim tough bottom ends from asparagus. On a rimmed baking sheet toss the asparagus with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper. When pastry is out of the oven, adjust oven to broil setting. Broil asparagus until tender and caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes (depending on your broiler). Remove and let cool.
- When pastry crust is cool spread with Hood Cottage Cheese with Cracked Pepper. Top with roasted asparagus. Spoon some red onion vinaigrette over the top and sprinkle with olives.
Notes
Nutrition
Delicious Pie and Tart Recipes
About Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in the food publishing business for over 20 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television & advertising. Order my new cookbook & stick around for amazing things to eat.
By Tara Teaspoon. Photography Ty Mecham.
