This recipe is best served while still warm out of the oven. It is also truly a very simple recipe that provides very elegant results!
Valerie Bertinelli Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart!
The ingredients for this recipe include the following:
8 ounces fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup ricotta
3 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill fronds
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, grated
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound thick-stem asparagus, trimmed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
One 8-ounce sheet puff pastry, thawed
All-purpose flour, for dusting
For preparation instructions, you can either watch the above video, or you can see a written copy here!
Puff Pastry Storage and Baking Tips
The use of frozen puff pastry from a store is a lifesaver at any time of the year, but it is especially helpful as we speed toward the busy holiday season. If I have one or two packages stashed in the freezer, I know I can whip up a a plate of mini-quiche appetizers for a potluck in no time – and the empty, crumbs-covered plates at the end of the night speak for themselves.
I can assure you that using frozen puff pastry for the first time will not only be easy, it will also taste delicious. Definitely, this is a time when taking some help from the freezer aisle is the smart thing to do.
The difference between store-bought puff pastry and homemade puff pastry
As a matter of fact, I think most of us would have trouble telling the difference between puff pastry that has been purchased from a store and that which has been made at home. A homemade puff pastry puffs up a little more impressively and has a more delicate texture compared to a store bought puff pastry – though the difference is surprisingly small. One of the real benefits of making your own puff pastry is that you can choose the type of butter you would like to use; a high-quality butter will make a world of difference when it comes to the flavor of the finished pastry.
Look for puff pastry that is made with all butter
It is probably not possible for you to choose the exact kind of butter that will be used in your store-bought puff pastry, but you can – and should – seek out brands that use only butter as an ingredient in their products. When puff pastry is partially or entirely made from shortening or any other fat, it will have a much inferior taste when compared to those made from butter alone. The labels of the products and the ingredient lists should be read carefully before purchasing.
It is important to let puff pastry thaw before using it
When it comes to working with store-bought puff pastry, the only potentially tricky part is that it needs to be completely thawed before you can use it. I suggest that you take the puff pastry package out of the freezer and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator if you can.
In extreme cases and if you do not have time to let the pastry thaw over an extended period of time, you can set it on the counter and watch it closely. It is important to catch the pastry right at the moment when it is just pliable enough to be rolled and shaped, but does not get too warm that the dough gets too limp for shaping or the butter starts melting.
Puff Pastry – How to Use It
There is no limit to what you can do with puff pastry. As a crust, it can be used for a free-form tart, folded into breakfast turnovers, baked into cups for easy appetizers, or cut into bite-sized shapes for appetizers. It can be used for all sorts of things.