Asparagus & Gruyère Tartlets | Recipe

Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10mins | Cook time: 25mins

These are so quick to make, especially if you buy ready-rolled pastry. The recipe makes 4 tartlets, which would serve 2 people if you’re not serving much else. If you’re eating them as part of a larger spread, 1 tart per person will be plenty.

Ingredients

• 1 × 320g sheet ready-rolled puff pastry,
• defrosted if frozen
• 4 tbsp crème fraîche
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbsp chopped tarragon
• 50g gruyère, grated (or flavourful vegetarian hard cheese)
• 400g asparagus
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (180ºC fan).

Unroll the puff pastry onto a baking tray (sheet pan) and cut it into 4 equal rectangles.

In a bowl, combine the crème fraîche, Dijon, garlic, tarragon and gruyère. Season with black pepper (no need for salt – there’s enough in the cheese). Spread the gruyère mixture over the pastry rectangles, leaving a 2cm border.

Snap the woody ends off the asparagus and discard them. Put the asparagus in a bowl and drizzle over the olive oil. Season, toss well to coat the spears in the oil, then divide them evenly between the tartlets. Brush the pastry border with the beaten egg and bake for 20–25 minutes, until golden and cooked through.

Cool on the tray over a cooling rack. Wait until the tarts are completely cooled before packing them for your picnic.