Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Tarragon Tart

By Melissa Clark

Updated July 12, 2021

  • Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Total Time
1 hour
Rating
5(7,322)
Comments
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Because you don’t have to make your own crust, this gorgeous asparagus-striped tart is so easy it almost feels like cheating. But it’s not. It’s just simple yet stunning, effortlessly chic and company-ready. As there are so few ingredients in this recipe that each one makes an impact, be sure to buy a good all-butter brand of puff pastry. If you can manage to serve this tart warm, within an hour of baking, it will be at its absolute best, with crisp pastry that shatters into buttery bits when you bite down and still-runny cheese. But it’s also excellent a few hours later, should you want to get all your baking done before your guests arrive. If tarragon isn’t your favorite herb, you can use chives, basil or mint instead. And if you can manage to trim all the asparagus to the same length, this tart will be especially neat and orderly looking.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

  • 1 cup soft goat cheese, at room temperature (4 ounces)

  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten, at room temperature

  • 1 large garlic clove, finely grated or minced

  • 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, plus more for serving

  • ½ tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

  • Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

  • 1 cup crème fraîche, at room temperature (8 ounces)

  • All-purpose flour, for dusting the work surface

  • 1 sheet or square all-butter puff pastry, thawed if frozen (about 9 to 14 ounces; brands vary)

  • 8 ounces thin asparagus, woody ends trimmed

  • Extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • Red-pepper flakes (optional)

  • 1 ½ ounces Parmesan, shaved with a vegetable peeler (about ½ cup)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

6 grams carbs; 48 milligrams cholesterol; 156 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 12 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 214 milligrams sodium; 6 grams protein; 2 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, use a fork or a wooden spoon to mash together the goat cheese, egg, garlic, tarragon, lemon zest, salt and nutmeg until smooth. Switch to a whisk and beat in the crème fraîche until smooth.

  2. Step 2

    On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry into a 13-by-11-inch rectangle about ⅛-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined cookie sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score a ½-inch border around the edges of the puff pastry.

  3. Step 3

    Spread the crème fraîche mixture evenly inside the scored border. Line up the asparagus spears on top, and brush them with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt and the grated Parmesan over the asparagus.

  4. Step 4

    Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let it cool on the cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours before serving. Then sprinkle black pepper, red-pepper flakes (if using), the shaved Parmesan and tarragon leaves. Drizzle a little oil on top.

Tip

  • You can assemble the tart 1 day in advance; but reserve the sprinkling of salt and grated Parmesan until right before baking. Loosely cover the tart and store it in the refrigerator until it's time to bake.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
7,322 user ratings
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Comments

stephanie

Scoring a border means take a sharp paring knife and *without cutting all of the way through the puff pastry* trace a straight line about 1" from the edges all around (like a picture frame). This way, when you put your filling in the center section to bake, this frees this frame to puff higher and create a border/rim around the tart.

balletgoer

Is there a good substitute for goat cheese? I'm not a fan.

CFXK

For who don't live in NYC near specialty shops and are wondering where to find all-butter puff pastry (since the big commercial brands sold at the chain supermarkets where the other 99% of us shop are made with vegetable oil), there is some good news and bad news. The good news is that Trader Joes frozen puff pastry is all butter. The bad news is that it is generally available only seasonally (i.e., around the Thanksgiving-Christmas axis).

Tina

Can you freeze this tart after making it

McPolo

I am very disappointed. I opted for grocery store non-butter puff pastry because if a few comments. I will try again with a better quality product.

Anna

you could use ricotta instead and add finely grated parmesan to give it flavor. @balletgoer

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Credits

Adapted from “Dinner in French: My Recipes by Way of France” (Clarkson Potter, 2020)

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