Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Tart

Flip through the pages of one of the glossier food magazines and you’re likely to encounter at least one multi-course dinner menu, a pastry that takes half a day to pull together, or a recipe that requires an ingredient you need Google Earth to track down. Who has the time, I always wonder. Doing the practical job of feeding a family seven days a week doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for lavish meal prep. But the truth is, once in a while, it’s fun to break out something a little more elegant than everyday cooking demands.

Enter today’s Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Tart. Although it’s a bit more involved than I might make for a Monday night, the recipe doesn’t require a culinary degree to get it right (which is good, since I don’t have a culinary degree).

Puff Pastry is Key

The fanciest part of this whole operation is the puff pastry, which I happily buy at the market rather than make from scratch. Puff pastry offers a big bang for your buck, since it’s very forgiving and results in a buttery, flaky crust every time. You then layer on smoked salmon, which bakes under a filling of eggs whipped with goat cheese, chives, and dill. The crowning touch is a row of asparagus lined up like soldiers across the length of the tart.

Perfect Brunch or Lunch

This tart is ideal for Easter brunch, Mother’s Day lunch, or other special occasion spring gatherings. You can even cut it into small squares and serve it as an appetizer for an evening party. It’s a terrific way to get busy in the kitchen if you can carve some time out of the practical to get a little bit fancy.

5 from 2 votes

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Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Brunch Tart

This tart is pretty to look at and delicious to eat, in part thanks to a layer of smoked salmon hiding beneath that row of asparagus. It makes an elegant addition to brunch or lunch, or can be cut into small squares and served as an appetizer. If a little of the egg filling drifts over the edge of the pastry while it cooks, not to worry. Just trim it off once the tart is out of the oven. Serve with a salad of simply dressed lettuces tossed with shaved radishes. If you prefer to downsize this tart, cut the entire recipe in half and roll the pastry into an 8- by 12-inch rectangle.

Course Appetizer, Breakfast

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 8 as a main dish or 24 appetizer portions

Calories 338 kcal

Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

• One 14-ounce sheet puff pastry (thawed in the refrigerator for 3 hours)
• All-purpose flour for rolling out the pastry
• 4 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon
• 4 ounces chèvre (goat cheese), softened to room temperature
• 3 Sprouts brand large eggs
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill
• 1 large bunch asparagus
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lightly flour a 13- by 17-inch piece of parchment paper. Remove puff pastry from the fridge and unfold it onto the parchment. Using a rolling pin, roll it into a 12- by 16-inch rectangle, flouring the top of the pastry as needed. Wet the edges with water and fold over a ¾-inch border. Pinch the dough all along the border, like you would for a pie, so that it is at least ½-inch high (the border needs to be high enough to keep the filling from drifting over the edge). Use the edges of the parchment paper to slide/lift the pastry to a large baking sheet. Lay the smoked salmon completely flat in a single layer along the bottom of the pastry. No overlapping. Put the baking sheet in the fridge to chill the pastry for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, beat the chèvre, eggs, chives, and dill with an electric mixer until smooth. Carefully pour the egg mixture over the salmon so that it covers the surface of the pastry.
4. Snap or trim the tough ends off the asparagus and line them up in a row across the length of the tart. Shower the tart lightly with freshly ground black pepper.
5. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. If the tart puffs up during baking, just spear it with a little knife to deflate it.
6. Cut into squares.