asparagus, prosciutto, and goat cheese tart

This recipe yields two tarts and initially, I was planning to make only one . But as I was testing the recipe, tasting one slice turned into eating four and pretty soon I had almost taken down an entire thing on my own. So, my suggestion is to just make two. They’re super light and the box of puff pastry comes with two sheets anyways. You can always assemble one and freeze it before baking to make another time.

Yield: 2 tarts

Ingredients:

4 oz soft goat cheese

1 c whole milk ricotta

1 tbsp honey

1 lemon, zested

salt and pepper to taste

10 slices prosciutto (about 5 slices per tart)

1 bunch asparagus, the skinnier the better

Step 1:

Preheat oven to 425F with the rack situated in the center. On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry into a rectangle.— mine was about 11”X13”. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined sheet tray. With the tip of a sharp knife, lightly score — not too deep— a 1/2” border around the edge of the puff pastry. This will allow the border to rise like a crust, and the center part of the puff pastry with filling to stay flat.

Step 2:

In a food processor or medium bowl, add the ricotta, goat cheese, honey, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Blend (or whisk) until smooth. If making just one tart, halve the filling recipe. Spread a quarter, or half if making one, of the mixture onto each puff pastry in an even layer. As you spread the mixture, stay within the border that you cut. A small offset spatula or a the back of a spoon works well for this.

Step 3:

Place slices of the prosciutto over the cheese mixture in an even layer so that it’s mostly covered. Dallop the remaining cheese mixture over the prosciutto, distributing it evenly between the two tarts. You don’t need to spread this layer out or worry about it being so perfect. It’s meant to help the asparagus stick to the tart and keeping it in dollops will mean that some of the mixture will seep between the asparagus and it looks really pretty when it bakes.

Step 4:

Drizzle the crust and the asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle the asparagus with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes and top with finely grated Parmesan cheese.