Asparagus and feta tart

Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 0 hr 30 mins
Ingredients
  • FOR THE SALAD:
  • 200g radishes
  • 80g frozen peas
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 2tbs olive oil
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 2tbs finely chopped mint
  • FOR THE PASTRY: 
  • 150g cold butter, cubed
  • 300g self-raising flour
  • 75ml cold water or 1 egg 
  • 1 egg whisked, to glaze
  • FOR THE FILLING:
  • 1 egg
  • 100g feta cheese, crumbled
  • 2tbs finely chopped thyme and extra to garnish
  • 3tbs red onion marmalade
  • 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed of their woody ends and cut into bite-size pieces or left whole

1 First assemble the salad. Remove the tops from the radish and slice them thinly. Soak the peas in boiling water for one minute before draining in a sieve and rinsing in cold water. Place the peas and radish in a bowl with the mint, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine and set aside.

2 Next, make the pastry. Place the butter and flour into a food processor and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. You can also do this using your fingertips or a round bladed knife. Add the water or egg and blitz once more to combine until a dough forms.

3 Place the dough on to a cold work surface, pat gently into a rounded shape, cover with cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4 Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (180 fan).

5 Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured worktop, into a 16-inch circle. Place on a lined baking tray.

6 Whisk one egg in a bowl with the crumbled feta, a tablespoon of chopped thyme and three tablespoons of onion marmalade. Mix until combined. No need to add salt as the feta is salty enough.

7 Spread the feta and egg mix on top of the rolled-out pastry disc. Leave a two-inch border around the edges. Arrange the asparagus on top. Pleat the pastry edges up over the filling so it forms a crust and holds in all the filling. Brush the edges of the pastry with the remaining beaten egg and bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling gently set.

8 Serve warm or at room temperature. Before serving, drizzle the tart with olive oil, sprinkle with crunchy sea salt flakes and garnish with fresh thyme sprigs.

Lilly Higgins

Lilly Higgins

Lilly Higgins, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a food writer