Cooking: Asparagus Gruyere Tart (Recipe)

I know asparagus is a Spring vegetable, but I have been finding some appetizing bunches in the store lately and since it's one of the vegetables our girls will eat I wanted to try it a different way. The story is that our girls liked a tomato tart I made recently (same recipe as this, but with heirloom tomatoes on top and a sprinkle of basil--yum!) so I thought I'd switch it up with asparagus and see if I could round out their supper. I may have eaten more than they did, but it was the right idea anyway!

The combination of caramelized onions and Gruyere is really hard to beat! I love this.

Click through for the recipe:

ASPARAGUS GRUYERE TART

Frozen pie crust or Puff Pastry

2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

8 oz Gruyere cheese, grated

Thin asparagus spears, washed and trimmed

Olive oil

Sea salt and Freshly ground pepper

My husband prefers these tarts with puff pastry but I love the buttery pie crust shell. This would be fabulous with your own homemade pastry but a purchased one makes it possible for me to pull off on a weeknight. So there you go! Follow the directions on the pie crust/pastry to pre-bake the shell. (Prick the thawed dough with a fork and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes.

While the pastry is pre-baking, saute the onions in 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and add a couple grinds of sea salt when they have softened. Saute the onions until they are caramelized.

Take the pie crust out of the oven and fill with the sauteed onions. 

 Then top with grated cheese and arrange asparagus spears on the top. Trim the asparagus to fit. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Cover the edges of the pie crust with a crust cover or foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until asparagus is tender and a bit blistered. (My crust fell apart when I pulled it out of the oven...that will happen....)

Let the tart cool a few minutes before serving.

Try this with a variety of sliced tomatoes on top too--delicious!