Posts Tagged ‘asparagus tart’

Aug
03


Long weekends are the perfect time to host a brunch. I started off with a trip to Evergreen Brick Works Farmers’ Market which provided inspiration to go home and start cooking.

For example: I bought a package of this…which I had never seen before and found out that it was totally edible and a member of the legume family!

brunch - clover

Here’s what I managed to make in slightly over 2 hours:

1. Chopped Egg: Not only did I add a little cream cheese, but I added a touch of Kozlik’s Horseradish mustard to it. Plus..I decorated the plate with the above mentioned flowers.

brunch - egg

2. Chopped Tuna. Here’s my little secret…add a touch of cream cheese when you mix up the tuna and the mayo together.

brunch - tuna

3. Salad: I bought a package of organic salad mix with edible flowers and threw it in the bowl with some more cut up romaine. How pretty is this?

brunch - salad

4. Beet Borsht shooters: These shooters certainly were a conversation starter when guests arrived.

brunch - shooters

5. Asparagus Tart: SO. EASY. TO. MAKE. Click here for the recipe.

brunch - tart

6. Blueberry Cobbler; Um…my guests really liked it. Can you tell? Click here for the recipe.

brunch - cobbler

7. Mint Pea Salad: Always a summer hit however I forgot to take a photo. Can you believe?

8. Avocado Corn Salad: I added a small amount of jalapeno and this made all the difference. Click here for the recipe.

brunch - avocado

9. Roasted Tomato/Roasted Garlic with St. Albert Twisted Cheese on Pumpernickel Rounds

brunch - appetizersAt the buffet, there were bagels, a small cheese tray, banana muffins and a cucumber salad too but I’m too tired to post anymore photos. Plus I don’t want to bore you!! However, here’s what the buffet looked like.

brunch - is served

Can’t wait to entertain again!!

Happy Cooking.

 

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Jul
26


I had the opportunity to go on a tour with Foodies on Foot and visit an asparagus farm as well as a lavender farm! I don’t often get the chance to visit a farm but when the opportunity presents itself …I jump at the chance.

The asparagus farm was indeed a learning experience. I had no idea that asparagus grew like this. (see bottom left photo)

asparagus - farm

At the end of the day, we were given 11 pounds of asparagus. For about a week, I was pretty busy making asparagus soup, roasted asparagus, steamed asparagus etc.

I also made this delicious Spring Asparagus Tart that I discovered online. In no time at all, I had a pretty nice looking meal.

Here’s the recipe courtesy of Morgan Hass for Food Network Kitchens:

SPRING ASPARAGUS TART

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (a 9 1/2- by 9-inch sheet from a 17.3-ounce package)

1 cup mascarpone

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 large egg, beaten

1 lemon, zest finely grated (about 1 tablespoon)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

1 pound pencil asparagus, woody bottoms trimmed off

1 tablespoon olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly flour the work surface and roll out the puff pastry to a 9- by 12-inch even rectangle.  Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. I used PC Butter Puff Pastry and was really pleased with the results. This is now by “go-to” puff pastry of choice!

asparagus - puff

Combine the mascarpone, 1 1/4 teaspoons of the salt, the flour, egg and lemon zest, and then fold in the chives and tarragon.  (I didn’t have this spice handy ). Spread over the puff pastry, leaving a 3/4-inch border.

Toss the asparagus with the olive oil in a bowl. Lay half of the asparagus in a neat row across the surface of the tart so the tips meet the edge. Do the same in the opposite direction with the remaining asparagus. (the fancy part)

Season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Bake until the border of the tart is deep golden and puffed and the top is lightly spotted golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes and serve.

FINAL RESULT

asparagus - tart

Serve this tart with a few salads and you are good to go!!

asparagus - salads

To find out more information about Foodies on Foot, please visit their website www.foodiesonfoot.ca  or follow them on twitter @foodiesonfoot.

 

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