Cheesy Asparagus Tart

This tasty tart is spring on a plate!

20 minutes prep, 1 hour 15 minutes cook

Serves 6

Ingredients

Flour, for dusting

500g block of shortcrust pastry

Knob of butter

4 rashers smoked streaky bacon, sliced into 1cm pieces

1 onion, peeled and finely sliced

450g asparagus, woody stems removed

5 medium free-range eggs

200ml double cream

40g Cheddar, grated

Watercress salad to serve

Method

Preheat your oven to 190°C/ Fan 170°C/Gas 5. Lightly dust a clean surface with flour then roll out the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin and large enough to line a 23cm loose-bottomed, fluted tart case. Lay the pastry in the tart case with any excess pastry overlapping the sides. Line with crumpled baking parchment, fill with baking beans and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the baking beans and cook the pastry for a further five minutes to ensure the base is cooked. Remove from the oven, trim the edges and leave to cool.

Melt the butter in a medium frying pan over a medium high heat. When bubbling, add the bacon and onion. Fry the ingredients, stirring regularly for 10 minutes, by which time the onions will have softened and caramelised. Tip the mix onto a plate and reserve.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Bring a pan of water to the boil. When bubbling vigorously, drop in the asparagus and cook for two and a half minutes before draining and cooling quickly under cold water.

Cut each spear to fit into the tart case. Slice up the trimmings and reserve.

Scatter the cooked onion and bacon mixture in the base of the tart, arrange the spears in the case following the pattern of a clock, and scatter the sliced trimmings evenly into the base.

Beat together the eggs, double cream and cheese, and slowly pour the mix into the tart, trying not to disturb the asparagus.

Slide the filled case into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until it’s just set with a slight wobble on the surface.

Remove the tart from the oven and leave to cool before slicing into wedges and serving with watercress.