Ribbon Asparagus Tart

By milly1362

Ingredients

• 12 medium asparagus spears
• 1 sheet (14 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 large egg, well beaten
• 2 TSP truffle oil (I use truffle flavored extra-virgin olive oil)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese, room temperature and light whipped with a fork
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 slices of prosciutto
• 1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut off and discard tough ends off of the bottom of asparagus. Cut off asparagus tips and reserve. Shave the remaining asparagus stalks into thin strips using a vegetable peeler.

In a medium saucepan, bring about 2 cups of water to a boil. Blanch asparagus tips in boiling water for two to three minutes. Remove asparagus tips and immediately submerge them in ice cold water to stop the cooking process.

Meanwhile, roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface, just until creases are smooth. Trim dough to a 10-inch square. Lightly score a 1/2-inch border around dough (be careful not to cut through the dough). Brush off excess flour and transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet (or a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking oil spray). Freeze 15 minutes.

Brush border of dough with the beaten egg. Bake until puffed and starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. In a medium bowl, toss asparagus shavings and drained tips with the oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove tart shell from oven and press down on the center with a spatula.

Spread an even layer of ricotta cheese on the tart shell. Than arrange asparagus on top.

Bake until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese and prosciutto evenly on top. Bake until cheese is melted, about 4 minutes more. Let cool on a wire rack 5 minutes before slicing into squares.