Cheesy Asparagus Potato Tart #FoodieExtravaganza

This cheesy asparagus potato tart takes three of my favorite things – crisp puff pastry, cheesy mashed potatoes made with creamy yogurt, and fresh asparagus – and turns them into so much more than the sum of three parts.

I’ve been making variations on this recipe since Jamie Oliver’s Jamie at Home* was first published in the UK, circa 2008. If I remember correctly, his tart calls for cream and is baked up in a shortcrust. Or  maybe phyllo pastry. Possibly it had different cheeses. It’s been a long time!

But like any good quiche recipe, this cheesy asparagus potato tart can also be adapted to use what you have on hand. As long as there are potatoes and cheese, it’s all good. And I prefer yogurt or sour cream in place of the rich cream anyway. Those add a little welcome tang.

Cheesy Asparagus Potato Tart

Adapted from Jamie at Home* this cheesy asparagus potato tart has been a family favorite for years with its puff pastry crust, savory potato filling and fresh asparagus topping.

If you can’t find nice asparagus in your local market, substitute green beans, preferable those fine green beans they call haricots verts très fine in France. I’ve used them instead of asparagus a couple of times and the tart is just as pretty and still fabulously tasty. Failing that, use normal green beans and cut them on an angle before blanching.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs or 675g potatoes
Sea salt 1/2 lb or 225g asparagus spears
1 round pre-rolled puff pastry sheet (about 11 1⁄4 oz or 320g)
5 1/2 oz or 155g freshly grated extra sharp cheddar
3 large eggs
1 cup or 240g whole fat plain yogurt, cold
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Bring a pot of water to the boil and add a teaspoon of fine sea salt. Fill a bowl with cold water and some ice and set aside. Cut the woody ends off of the asparagus with a sharp knife and pop them into the boiling water and set a timer for 3 or 4 minutes. Three if the asparagus are thin ones, four if they are thicker.

Peel your potatoes and cut them into chunks.

When the time goes off, remove the asparagus from the pot with a slotted spoon and put them in a colander. Rinse them with cool tap water then tip them into the ice water bowl. Once they are well chilled, drain and dry the asparagus on a clean towel or paper towels.

Gently lower your potatoes into the pot of salted water and bring it back to a low boil. Cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes or until tender.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and line the bottom of your 9 in or 23cm tart pan with a circle of baking parchment. Unroll your puff pastry and line the tart pan with it. Put the tart pan in the refrigerator to chill until you are ready to fill it.

When the potatoes are done, mash them until they are relatively lump-free. Fold in the cold yogurt and stir till combined.

Now add in the cheese and stir well again. Taste the potatoes and sprinkle on a little more salt if needed, along with a few generous grinds of fresh black pepper. I usually add about a 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt but if your cheese is pretty salty, that might not be necessary.

By this time your potatoes should have cooled off considerably from all the additions and the stirring. We don’t want them to be so hot because then they would cook the eggs on contact. If they are just warm, proceed. Otherwise stir a few more times to help them cool.

Add the eggs one at time, stirring till well combined with each addition.

Spoon the filling into the chilled puff pastry crust and smooth out the top.

Cover the top of the cheesy potato filling with the blanched asparagus. Fold the edge of the crust under itself, if there is any hanging out.

If your tart pan has a removable bottom, put the tart pan on larger pan and put them both into the oven. If not, put the tart pan straight into the preheated oven. I like to use one with a removable bottom because it's prettier on the serving platter without the pan.

Turn the oven down to 375°F or 190°C. Bake the tart for about 30-35 minutes or until the crust is puffy and golden and the center is just set. A tiny wiggle is okay as that will set when it cools.

Leave to rest on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. Use a serrated knife or even some kitchen scissors to cut through the asparagus on top before cutting down through the tart below. A dull knife will just push the asparagus into the cheesy potato filling.

This cheesy asparagus potato tart can also be served at room temperature.

Enjoy!

This month my Foodie Extravaganza group is sharing recipes with pastry. Many thanks to our host, Caroline from Caroline's Cooking for the theme and her behind the scenes work. Check out all the great recipes below:

• Cheesy Asparagus Potato Tart by Food Lust People Love
• Cornish-Style Steak Pasties by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Garlic Herb Chicken in Puff Pastry by A Day in the Life on the Farm. 
• Kolache Cookies by Caroline's Cooking
• Puff Pastry Apple Cranberry Strudel by Veggie Fun Kitchen
• Raspberry Pistachio Palmiers by Palatable Pastime

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays by posting delicious recipes your family will love. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a home cook looking for tasty recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

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*Amazon affiliate link - If you buy Jamie at Home by following this link, I earn a very small percentage, at no extra cost to you.

Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert #BakingBloggers

Super simple to make, especially if you use store-bought puff pastry, this colorful Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert makes the perfect appetizer for your dinner party, to serve along with cocktails and wine or to present as the cheese course at the end of your meal.

I mean really. Take a look at this guy. Isn’t he gorgeous? I’m here to tell you that he’s as tasty as he is pretty. And so easy! Creamy Camembert cheese is the perfect savory accompaniment to the sweet dried apricots, vibrant pistachios and tart pomegranate arils. And who doesn’t love flakey puff pastry?

This month the theme for my Baking Bloggers group is puff pastry so make sure to scroll down past the recipe to see all of the other links!

I’m not a big dessert lover so anytime a set menu offers me a cheeseboard instead; I’m on it. I love the way the typical accompaniments of dried fruits like figs and apricots complement the salty rich cheeses. And if there are some crunchy pistachios, almonds or walnuts on the board, I like to make sure my every bite has all three: cheese, fruit and nuts.

This Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert makes that easier than ever, putting the whole combo in a crunchy crust. And when most of the Camembert is gone, you can cut the puff pastry into slices like a pie and sprinkle on a few of the spare apricots and pistachios. Delicious!

Tip: To choose a ripe Camembert, check the sell by date. Buy the one dated closest to the date you plan to make this appetizer. If it’s still in date weeks later, it’s not ripe enough now!

Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert 

Crispy puff pastry makes the perfect vessel for creamy baked Camembert, sprinkled with dried apricots, slivered pistachios and some pomegranate arils for extra crunch, flavor and color.

Ingredients
1 package ready rolled puff pastry (about 131⁄4 oz or 375g)
1 ripe Camembert cheese (8 3⁄4 oz or 250g) – best quality you can afford – I prefer the ones made with raw milk, when I can find them.
1⁄4 cup or 50g chopped dried apricots
1⁄4 cup or 25g slivered or chopped pistachios
1⁄4 cup or 37g pomegranate arils
To serve: water crackers or toasted slices of baguette

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and line a baking pan with parchment or a silicone liner.

Remove the Camembert from its wooden box and set it on a large square of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Fold up the sides of the foil, crimping as you go, using the cheese to create a large bowl out of the foil.

Unroll the puff pastry. We are going to make two circles on the pastry in order to begin building our crust. Place your Camembert on the puff pastry sheet and gently score a line around the outside of the foil­ covered cheese with the point of a knife. Mark another spot with your knife, about 1 1⁄2 inches or 4cm farther out. Set the foil­ covered Camembert aside.

Look around your house for something round – a saucer or small lid, perhaps? – the same size as that outer circle. Use your found object as a guide to cut a round circle out of the puff pastry.

Repeat the process a second time, but instead of just scoring the circle around the cheese, cut through the puff pastry. Carefully lift the circle of pastry and place it on top of the first circle.
Use a sharp knife to cut the rest of the puff pastry into wide curved strips and use them to build up the sides of the puff pastry crust.

Dock the middle of the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork or the tip of your knife.

Transfer the unbaked crust to the baking pan.

Gently remove the Camembert from the foil so it retains its shape. Place the foil “bowl” into the middle of the puff pastry. Fill with pastry beads or dried beans.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Take the crust from the oven and remove the foil filled with baking beads.

Unwrap your Camembert and carefully cut off the top rind, trying not to cut away the creamy cheese inside.

Put the cheese, open side up in the puff pastry crust. Make little cuts all around the sides of the Camembert so it can run out and collapse as it melts.

Bake for about 15­-20 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and bubbling. Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving platter.

Sprinkle on the apricots, pistachios and pomegranate arils.

Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices. Several small spoons will allow folks to help themselves. Grab a spoon and dig in!

Many thanks to Sue from Palatable Pastime for organizing this month's Baking Bloggers event. Check out all the great puff pasty recipes we have for you today!

• Apple Butter Tart by Palatable Pastime
• Baked Apricot Pistachip Camembert by Food Lust People Love
• Cherry Turnovers by The Redhead Baker
• Cinnamon Roll Twists by Sneha's Recipe
• Homemade Taco Hot Pockets by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Matcha Puff Pastry Twists by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Puff Pastry Chicken Packets by Hardly a Goddess
• Spinach Ham and Cheese Bites by Karen's Kitchen Stories

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interesting in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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Bacon Parmesan Twists

Puff pastry spread with Dijon and sprinkled with Parmesan, then twisted with streaky bacon, is baked till it's crispy, puffed and golden. Bacon Parmesan Twists are a divine savory snack!

A number of years ago, I discovered refrigerated puff pastry sheets and I began a crazy period when they featured almost daily in my baking repertoire with sweet fillings, savory toppings and all the permutations between the two. I even taught a small class for a few of my Malaysian friends who had never used puffed pastry and wanted to be able to duplicate some of my treats for their families. The beauty of puff pastry sheets is that you can throw them in the freezer (if they haven't already come frozen) to extend their use-by date because they thaw so quickly, even as you are preheating your oven. Then they bake to golden crunchy perfection!

Bacon Parmesan Twists

I’ve adapted my recipe from this one on the BBC website. You can cut the twists into smaller pieces once baked to make the perfect snacking nibbles with cocktails. Even handier, these savory treats can be frozen once baked and rewarmed in the oven when ready to serve. Keeping a supply of puff pastry sheets in the freezer is like paying your insurance premiums. Except in this case, it is a delight to be able to take advantage of being paid up.

Ingredients
1 x 14 oz or 400g puff pastry sheet
Plain flour, for dusting, if not using parchment to roll your pastry
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup or 45g freshly grated Parmesan
8-9 slices good-quality streaky bacon (not thick cut!)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method
Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Lay one slice of bacon along side your sheet of puff pasty and roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface or another piece of baking parchment so that it is as wide as that slice is long. (There is no need to remove the plastic sheet the pastry was probably rolled up with in the package. Just leave it on.)

You can see the original blue plastic sheet that the puff pastry was rolled up in underneath.
That's how big the sheet was originally.

Turn the pastry so that the longest side is facing you and spread on the mustard.

Sprinkle with the cheese.

Line the pieces of bacon up on the pastry, leaving a small gap between them.

Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry between each slice of bacon.

Carefully start at one end and twist each piece of pastry 4-5 times.

Place them on the prepared baking tray, leaving at least two to three inches in between the twists to allow space for the puff pastry to expand. You may have to bake these in two batches, depending on the size of your pan. Chill the pastry twists in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Remove the twists from the refrigerator and brush with the beaten egg.

Bake the twists for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is well risen and golden-brown and the bacon is crispy.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!