A celebration of the seasonal star of the moment; asparagus, it needs very little dressing up other than some cheese and fresh herbs to make it sing. The tart crust is a wholesome and nutritious blend of walnuts, buckwheat and spelt flour. This may sound a little intimidating but the crust is very easy to make, with everything being thrown in the food processor.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup spelt flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
¾ cup walnuts
¼ cup olive oil
1 free range egg yolk
2–6 Tablespoons cold water
Generous pinch of sea salt and cracked black pepper
5 free range eggs, beaten
1 cup grated edam or parmesan cheese
1 bunch asparagus, washed and trimmed of “woody” end of stalk
small handful parsley or thyme, chopped roughly
To serve: additional fresh herbs, sea salt, cracked black pepper
The crust itself is dairy free and you could easily make the whole tart dairy free by using sautéed leeks instead of cheese to flavour the egg mixture. Beware of sharing this with others - you’ll be flooded with requests for more! I love the tart when it’s hot but I actually think cold is even better.
METHOD
Pastry (can be made the day before): Blitz walnuts in a food processor to a fine crumb. Add the buckwheat flour, spelt flour and salt. Pulse to combine well. Add olive oil and egg yolk. Add cold water one tablespoon at a time while the food processor is running until the mixture comes together as a ball of dough.
Turn the food processor off as soon as it comes together. Form dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Roll out pastry on a floured surface until thin. Drape over your tart case and gently work it into the inner edge. Run a knife around the top edge of the tart in to remove the excess pastry and prick 6 holes in the base of the pastry with a fork.
Bake at 180 °C for 12-16 minutes until the tart case is golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Filling: Lay ¾ of your asparagus in the tart case. Combine the beaten eggs with the grated cheese and herbs. Pour into the tart case over the asparagus.
Top egg mixture with the remaining asparagus. Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden and set. If you can, let the tart sit for half an hour before serving.
To serve: Sprinkle with additional herbs, sea salt and a generous grind of cracked pepper.
Kelly Gibney
Kelly Gibney is a food writer, stylist and photographer based in Auckland. For more delicious wholefood recipe inspiration head over to her blog, bonnie delicious.
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