Elegant Asparagus & Parmesan Puff Pastry Tart

This perfect veggie tart for Spring is easy, elegant and tasty. Using frozen puff pastry from the grocery store is THE way to get great pastries with very little effort. In this recipe, we layered Dijon mustard, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses with blanched asparagus over puff pastry to create a fantastically flaky, cheesy Spring tart. Perfect for Mother's Day or any get together.

Asparagus & Parmesan Puff Pastry Tart

Servings: 4-6  |  Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Asparagus, trimmed
• 1 sheet Puff Pastry, thawed
• 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
• 1-1/2 cups Mozzarella, shredded
• 1/2 cup Parmesan, shredded
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Blanch the asparagus: fill a large bowl with ice water. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and cook 2-5 minutes until bright green and crisp-tender. Drain and transfer the asparagus to the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and pat dry.

2. Assemble the tart: Preheat the oven to 400F. Roll out the puff pastry sheet to a 10 by 16-inch rectangle on a Silicone mat or large piece of parchment. Transfer the silicone mat/parchment with rolled puff pastry to a sheet pan.

3. Spread Dijon mustard in an even layer on the puff pastry, leaving a one-inch border around the sides.

4. Toss together the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and sprinkle evenly over the layer of Dijon. Lay the asparagus side-by-side across the cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake 15-20 minutes until pastry is golden brown and cheese is puffy.

5. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Our favorite hand graters and zesters. When Microplane first introduced their zester, it was an instant success. And no wonder! Once you tried a Microplane you could never go back to your old cranky grater or ill-conceived zester again.

It all started in 1994 when a Canadian housewife became frustrated while trying to make an orange cake. Tired of her zester ripping and tearing the orange's skin, she grabbed her husband's favorite wood rasp from his wood-working bench.

The photo-etched blade of the rasp slid effortlessly through the orange peel, producing light orange zest as fluffy as snowflakes, while leaving the bitter white pith behind. And as they say, the rest is history.

The Original Microplane Zester was introduced in 1998, and it's still is one of the best kitchen gadgets you'll ever own. While Microplane zesters and graters feature the world's sharpest blades, with a photo-etched and long lasting design, they won't last forever. Depending on when you bought yours, it may be time for a new Microplane Grater and Zester to appear in your kitchen gadget drawer. Yes, that's no subtle hint there.

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The Original Microplane Zester is a pro at creating light fluffy citrus zest and it works just as great on hard cheeses, like Parmesan. The Premium Zester is the same as the original with a convenient black handle, it's also available with a red handle. The newer Artisan Series Graters pictured below are available in fine, course and extra-coarse blades and feature a wider handle.

Finding the perfect grater/zester blade for the job.

Zester Blade: This famous blade style creates the finest thread-like results and is ideal for everything that you want to have finely grated. 

Fine Grating Blade. The fine blade produces a very delicate, light texture. A fine cut also produces a more intense flavor in a dish or directly on the taste buds due to its super-fine nature. High moisture foods like ginger, cloves or chili produce a puree-like texture.

Coarse Grating Blade: It is ideal for hard cheeses such as Parmesan and Romano to top your favorite soup. As well as a wide range of fruits and vegetables, from pears, apples, and coconut, nuts, to fresh carrots. It is stellar at grating aromatics, such as shallots, onions, garlic and ginger into a fine paste that melts and blends instantly with other ingredients in a pan.

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