FRENCH ASPARAGUS TART

This is a French tart made with asparagus, flat leaf parsley, Gruyere cheese, cream, eggs and subtle spices. This is a heavenly tart. Fun to make and luscious to eat.
In truth I was proud of the finished product as it does take a while when the crust and all is made from scratch. 
This is what I did.
Make your favorite pie crust for a single crust. Make a ball and flatten into a disc warp in plastic wrap and set in the fridge for at least a half hour longer is better.
Then roll out and lay and press into a tart pan with removable bottom. Trim crust at the edge of the tart pan.


Asparagus Tart
1 pound fresh asparagus cleaned and trimmed 
2/3 cup shredded Gruyere cheese divided
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley minced
4 eggs lightly beaten
3/4 cup half and half cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Paprika for sprinkling on top
Cut two inches off the top of each piece of asparagus set aside
Cut stem pieces into 3/4 inch long pieces. In small saucepan add the 3/4 length pieces and cover and boil for four minutes. Drain and immediately drop in to ice water let sit a few minutes and then drain and pat dry.
Place the blanched asparagus pieces in the bottom of the tart shell then add 1/3 cup of the cheese and the parsley. In a small bowl combine the eggs, cream, salt, cayenne and nutmeg and pour over the ingredients in the tart shell. Arrange asparagus tops in a pretty pattern over the egg mixture and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and paprika.
Place the tart pan on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes  remove the tart ring and slice.
Bon appetit!!
I served this with a romaine lettuce salad with sliced radishes, grilled corn cut from the cob and sliced sweet onion . Italian dressing to the side with Parmesan shredded cheese and home made garlic Parmesan croutons. 
For desert I made a rustic apple pie with a butterscotch drizzle and a topping of whip cream.
It was a beautiful tasty meal. 
I set the table in a multicolored motif. With colorful patchwork place mats(courtesy of my Mom) and bright red napkins. All looked very festive. We dined while listening to French Cafe music. After dinner we watched a beautiful travel film about the French Rivera.  We had a nice evening with hubby's mother and she truly enjoyed the food and ambiance. 


Now today it is a work day for both hubby and I.
I am cleaning this house from top to bottom. I will also make out the weekly grocery shopping list and menu. With my daughter arriving on Friday and spending three nights I would like to serve some simple food that is not to time consuming to make.
For dinner Friday evening as hubby will work late I will make a polenta, sausage casserole with peppers and onions and the last of our homemade tomato sauce. A simple satisfying meal that I can pop into the oven when hubby walks through the door. As all ingredients are precooked all just needs to meld together and heat through. My daughter and I will have a Saturday late lunch  at PF Changs so hubby will have leftovers, he does not mind. Sunday the menu will be blue cheese stuffed burgers with the works and baked potato salad. Hopefully the weather will be decent so we can eat outdoors at the patio table.  So easy fare with basically no kitchen time so more time for us to play!


Well I had best start my day. I will get my walk out of the way first thing. We have coastal clouds this morning but I can see already they are growing thin and giving way to sunshine. I am a happy gal!
Later.