Our garden has asparagus popping up all over the place this year. We didn’t plant them; in fact, they were planted by my grandmother in the 1970s and they are still showing up all these years later. For that reason, I will always love asparagus and am always looking for new ways to cook them. Harlie Merten’s recipe for Asparagus Cheese Tarts seemed like a perfect combination to try. Asparagus and cheese? Yes, please.

In addition to asparagus, you’ll just need sliced mushrooms, grated cheese, lemon zest, sour cream and frozen puff pastry which comes in sheets in the frozen food section of the grocery store. You’ll also need a bit of salt, pepper, and olive oil.

You’ll start by sautéing the mushrooms in a pan with a bit of olive oil or butter. The key with mushrooms is to not stir them around too much in the pan. You want them to brown before they release their juices, since that adds a lovely earthy flavor.

Once they have a nice brown color, simply sprinkle with salt, and that will help release the moisture.

Give them a stir now so they cook on both sides. They will start to shrink quite a bit.

Give them a few turns of pepper and let them cool off the heat while you tend to the asparagus.

The asparagus can be cut in any way you please. I went for diagonals because it looks nice, but you could cut them lengthwise as well.

Slice them all as uniformly as possible so that they cook evenly.

Then toss them in with the mushrooms and sauté them briefly.

Add this whole mixture to a bowl and let it cool for a few minutes.

Then add the sour cream, cheese, and lemon zest and give it a stir so that it is nicely incorporated.

Then you preheat the oven to 400ºF and grease a sheet tray. Hopefully yours doesn’t look as sad as mine—or as “loved,” as I like to say.

Cut the puff pastry into whatever shapes you’d like. You could do small single serving squares or longer rectangular tarts that you can then cut later. Score the edges all the way around.

Brush the puff pastry with a little oil…

And pile the mixture on top, making sure to leave at least 1 inch around all sides.

In about 20 minutes, you will have this very easy, very delicious asparagus cheese tart, perfect for a last-minute meal or party food. Give this a try sometime! And thanks to Harlie for such a great recipe. Visit her blog, One Bakin’ Blonde, for more of her recipes!

Printable Recipe

Asparagus Cheese Tarts

by Harlie Merten on August 7, 2009 in Appetizers August 7, 2009 Appetizers

5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 12

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Description

A small and simple appetizer made with a citrusy bite!

Ingredients

• 2 pieces Thawed Puff Pastry
• 10 ounces, weight Fresh Sliced Mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon Sea Salt, Divided
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper, Divided
• 1 pound Fresh Asparagus
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
• 1 cup Shredded Cheese
• ½ cups Sour Cream

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.

2. Roll out the pastry sheet and cut into 6 small squares.

3. Using a small knife, score a ½” border around the inside edge of each square and place on a greased baking sheet.

4. Sauté mushrooms in a skillet and add half of the salt and pepper.

5. Transfer to a large bowl and cool.

6. Cut asparagus on the diagonal into 1” pieces and add to the mushroom mixture.

7. Add in lemon zest, remaining salt and pepper, cheese and sour cream.

8. Spoon filling on the pastry squares, leaving ½” border.

9. Bake 20 to 22 minutes.

 
 
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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful book Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.

Over the course of the summer, I typically receive five or six phone calls from friends inquiring about my well-being. Their voices fraught with concern, they ask, “How are you doing in this heat, Dara? You’re drinking lots of water, right?” After years of watching me practically melt in the summertime heat, they know better than to ask me to go for a walk in the midday sun or sit at the sunny table on a restaurant patio. I mean, really, what is a gal from Canada, used to the temperate climate of Vancouver, doing in a place where the temperatures climb above 100 degrees F? Well, let’s just say that I spend a good portion of the summer either standing over an air-conditioning vent or submerged in a pool.

Considering my dislike for extreme temperatures, I do everything in my power to avoid turning on the oven during the summer. Light, easy meals that don’t require a lot of exertion to make (I really am pathetic, aren’t I?) appear on the table regularly. So, when I saw this chicken spinach salad by CarolinaHeartStrings, I knew it would become a favorite. Who can resist a fresh salad packed with tasty ingredients such as chicken, olives and artichokes, particularly when it is topped with a warm dressing that contains bacon?

Let’s start this recipe off on a very good foot, shall we? Now, the recipe calls for bacon bits, which I took to mean frying up some bacon so there’s enough for the salad and an extra piece for eating. I had to keep my energy up while snapping pictures, you know.

For the rest of the dressing, in a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium- low heat. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes to soften.

Add the brown sugar…

… balsamic vinegar, crumbled bacon and reserved liquid from the can of artichokes. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes. The aroma will make you salivate.

For the rest of the salad, you will need spinach, chopped cooked chicken breast, canned artichoke hearts, black olives and feta cheese. My kids were too busy fighting over the can of black olives, so they didn’t make it into the photo.

Divide the spinach leaves evenly between 4 plates and top with equal portions of the chicken, artichokes, black olives and feta cheese.

Spoon the warm dressing over the salads.

Serve and enjoy, preferably while sitting in a nice shady spot or beside an air-conditioning vent.

 
Thank you to Alessa and Tammi for this easy salad that we will be making again and again throughout the summer. Be sure to check out their blog Carolina Heartstrings for other great recipes and tales of their everyday lives.

Printable Recipe

Chicken Spinach Salad with warm Bacon-Artichoke Dressing

by Carolina HeartStrings on May 9, 2011 in Main Dish Salads, Salads May 9, 2011 Main Dish SaladsSalads

See post on Carolina HeartStrings’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

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I have always loved the spinach salads served in restaurants with a warm bacon dressing. This is my version of what I’d order if I could have it made my way.

Ingredients

• FOR THE DRESSING:
• 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ¼ cups Onion, Minced
• 2 whole Large Garlic Cloves, Minced
• 4 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Real Bacon Bits
• The Reserved Liquid From The Artichokes
• _____
• FOR THE SALAD:
• 1 bag (12 Oz. Size) Baby Spinach Leaves
• 4 whole Cooked Chicken Breasts, Cubed
• 1 cup Whole Pitted Black Olives
• 4 ounces, fluid Feta Cheese, Crumbled
• 1 jar (14 Oz. Size) Artichokes, Drained, Reserve Liquid For Dressing

Preparation Instructions

1. For the dressing, gently heat the oil and add the onion and garlic. Cook 5–6 minutes.

2. Add the remaining dressing ingredients and cook gently for 15 minutes.

3. Divide spinach between 4 plates and top with equal portions of all toppings (cut artichokes into topping size if neccessary).

4. Spoon warm dressing over salads.

 
 
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Dara Michalski is a doll and a sweetheart who clearly knows her way around the kitchen. She blogs at Cookin’ Canuck, where she shares her flavor-packed recipes and fun, engaging writing. The photography’s pretty incredible, too.

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