When trying to keep a dinner menu simple, I love to serve a substantial recipe rather than a few picky dishes. If you get your timing right, a few glasses of wine when your guests arrive will hold them over and naturally transition to dinner with just one big appetizer.
Warm, cheesy, tangy, flaky…downright dreamy. This asparagus tart recipe is perfect for your spring and Easter gatherings and is irresistible served warm and super tasty at room temperature.
I promise the only regret you’ll have with this recipe is wanting to eat it all! It’s so simple it’s almost a sin to even call this a recipe. You can change up any aspect of the recipe, change the cheeses, use a different veg – it’s all up to you!
The balsamic glaze I added at the end really helped to finish the dish, just add right before serving if you decide to serve this tart at room temperature!
Serve up this Asparagus Tart with an arugula salad, Lamb Lollipops and Lemon Loaf for dessert! Get your Easter table ready here!
Easy Asparagus Tart Recipe
Yield: 6-8 servings | Time: ~35 minutes
Ingredients:
Pastry dough, thawed.
1/4 c grated Gruyere cheese
1/4 c whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 tbsp lemon zest (optional!)
salt, pepper to taste (salt might depend on the cheese you choose)
optional: balsamic glaze to finish
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°
Roll thawed pastry dough onto parchment lined baking sheet
Score pastry dough in a rectangle to make the area that will be the “crust,” about 1/2 inch from the edges. Poke the base with a fork generously to prevent the puff pastry from, well, puffing up too much. Bake dough for 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, trim and blanch your asparagus. Drain well.
While pastry and asparagus are cooling, combine cheeses, lemon zest if using, salt and pepper. Mix well. Gently spread cheese mixture evenly on tart, leaving crust without cheese.
Top with blanched asparagus. Bake for 12 minutes or until crust is golden-brown and cheese is melty delicious.
Let cool for a few minutes and cut into slices. You’ll need a very sharp knife or a very sharp serated knife to cut the pastry without the crust falling apart.
Note: Frozen pastry dough typically comes with two sheets of dough. This recipe can easily be doubled to utilize both sheets of puff pastry. make sure to separate them from each other if you are going to thaw both sheets of pastry dough.
When we’re hosting a casual get together like this week’s Sunday Funday menu, I try to keep everything quick, easy and straightforward. These sausage stuffed mushrooms and parmesan crisps are so easy – worth every second of effort and they’ll make your guests feel like you really, really went all out for them.
So the saying goes, “A Sunday well spent brings a week of content.” I love spending our Sunday’s with friends and family. It’s such an enjoyable way to round out the week and get one last recharge in before the chaos of a new week.
Keeping Sunday entertaining easy and simple is so important, not just for you as a hostess but for your guests. You want to make them feel comfortable and like they’re getting their last dose of relaxation in before their week, too. I am loving this menu for a great Sunday lunch.
I’m all about casual entertaining (okay, china and a beautifully set table 100% has its place and I’m super into that, too). Keeping things casual sends a signal to your guests that they can just relax, be themselves, be comfortable. A simple menu packs a punch when all the flavors go from one dish to the next – it’s like a good playlist or a great story. Putting together this menu, I thought about each flavor in the dishes working together. I’m not a big fan of say, cheese and crackers for an appetizer and ground beef tacos for the main dish – a little jarring for my taste.
Stay casual by picking a palette – keep the colors in the same family and stack up your dishes and utensils for an easy grab. A stack of dishes to me is a little bit more like, “hey thanks for joining us for our usual dinner.” What’s better than having your friends join you for an every day kind of meal?
I have a sick stash of mason jars around the house and use them for everything – smoothies, flowers, and here, utensils. I always throw utensils in a mason jar. What could be more casual?
