Asparagus Tart

Yes Puff Pastry! But everybody has one (or more?) guilty pleasure food...and puff pastry is one of mine. We have this love and hate relationship. I love the comfort and the texture of the puff pastry but hate the fact that it is made of butter! Growing up my mom always had puff pastry in the freezer, for quick afternoon tea treats. I usually don't buy it, you know what they say " out of sight - out of mind!" and it is really true! I was doing my grocery shopping before my knee surgery and couldn't resist buying a pack of puff pastry since it is very easy and quick to prepare a meal with it ( or at least how I justified it, anyway).

As you can see it is hard to resist if your pleasure factor is waiting for you right in your freezer. I still tried to make this recipe lower calorie and substituted the Gruyere cheese with low fat ricotta cheese.  All I could say it was easy, fast and tasty!

Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted according to manufacturer's directions
6 ounces low fat ricotta cheese, drained of any excess liquid in a fine sieve
 or 5 1/2 ounces (2 cups) Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 1/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
Flour, for work surface
Salt and pepper

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. 

2. Using a large wooden spoon, combine the eggs, ricotta, black pepper and the nutmeg. Spread the ricotta filling evenly over the pastry base, leaving a 1-inch border.

3. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over the cheese spread. Spray with olive oil. You can brush the edges of the puff pastry with egg yolk to have a nice golden color (optional)

4. Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Slice and serve warm!