Asparagus and Fennel Tart

I look at a lot of recipes. I see them on Pinterest. I watch the Food Network. I get 3 cooking magazines every month as well as countless other magazine and newspaper recipes. And I have so many cookbooks it's ridiculous. One of the things I really enjoy is finding a new way to cook an old favorite. This recipe is like that. I saw a beautiful picture of an asparagus tart in the Food Network magazine and I thought it might be good for an Easter brunch. It was time for a taste tester's test...

I had puff pastry in the freezer and some fresh asparagus in the refrigerator. The original recipe does not call for fennel, but since I had some in the refrigerator I decided to add it. I picked up the cheese on my next trip in to the big city grocery store and decided to make Asparagus Fennel Tart to go along with some pan fried rainbow trout for dinner. Anyone who has read my blog since the beginning knows how I feel about fish...trying a new vegetable dish was just the treat I needed to offset the "fish-for-dinner-dilemma".

Let me show you how I did it:

I started by setting puff pastry out to thaw for about 1/2 hour while I prepared the vegetables.

Then I blanched (put in boiling water for a short time) the asparagus in boiling water for about 4 minutes and then immediately put them in ice water to stop them from overcooking. You want the asparagus crisp-tender (not mushy).

 After a minute or two in the ice bath I drained the asparagus and patted it dry with paper towel.

 I chopped up a fennel bulb in strips...at this point I should tell you I've decided not to add fennel in the future. I thought I would caramelize the fennel and use it sort of like onion on the tart, but it has a strong flavor and a little crunchier texture than onion. If you love fennel it would be perfect. I wanted to highlight the asparagus more, so next time I will leave the fennel out.

I finely chopped the shallot.

I sauteed the fennel and shallots in a little olive oil. The fennel was not softening as much as I hoped to I added white wine and continued to cook on top of the stove for about 10 minutes. I don't have a measurement for the wine...I just added about 1/4 cup at a time and let it cook down to caramelize the fennel and shallots.

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and then I rolled out the puff pastry on a floured board to remove the creases and to make it a little larger ~ about 10"x14". I transferred it to a parchment lined baking sheet and pricked it all over with a fork. 

I baked the puff pastry for about 12 minutes, until it was golden brown. I took it out of the oven and let it cool a little while I prepared the toppings.

In a large glass bowl I whisked two egg yolks, the milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

I shredded 8 ounces of Guyere cheese and stirred it into the egg mixture.

I spread the egg and cheese mixture on top of the puff pastry, leaving about a half an inch of border all the way around.

 I put the caramelized fennel and shallots on top of the cheese mixture and then arranged the asparagus on top. I must have been excited to get it back in the oven, because I forgot to take a picture of it before I put it in the oven!

 This is how it looked after I took it out of the oven and sprinkled the lemon zest on top.

I used a pizza cutter to cut the asparagus tart into squares and served it with rainbow trout for dinner.


The official recipe for Asparagus and Fennel Tart:


1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped into strips**
1 shallot, finely diced
2 tablespoons olive oil**
white wine (approximately 1/2 cup)**
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces Guyere cheese, grated
1 tablespoon lemon zest


   Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured board, roll out puff pastry to a 10"x14" rectangle. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Bake 12 minutes until golden brown. Set aside.
   Blanch asparagus for about 4 minutes until tender-crisp and then put in an ice bath. Drain, pat dry, and set aside.
   In a saute pan on top of the stove, add olive oil and heat to medium high. Add fennel and caramelize. Use white wine as needed to keep the fennel from sticking to the pan. Add the shallots and cook for another 2 minutes.
   In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and whisk in milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir the shredded cheese into the egg mixture. 
   Spread the egg and cheese mixture over the puff pastry crust. Leave a 1/2 inch border on all sides.
   Add the caramelized fennel and shallots to the top of the cheese mixture.
   Arrange the asparagus on top of the fennel.
   Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, until the cheese mixture is melted and set.
   Sprinkle lemon zest on top.
   Serve warm or room temperature.

** In the future I will not use the fennel because it overpowers the flavor of the asparagus. I will skip the caramelizing all together, so I will not need the fennel, olive oil, and white wine. I will whisk the shallots into the egg mixture.


What was the taste testers bottom line?
I thought this had a beautiful presentation. The fennel was a little crunchy and the flavor overpowered the asparagus. I took the fennel off of a piece of the tart and found I liked it much better. GoodMan thought it seemed a little "fussy" for a regular weeknight meal.

The bottom line: I will take out the fennel in the future and plan to serve this on special occasions like Easter brunch or a ladies luncheon.