Lately I can’t seem to eat enough tarts (or galette if you want to be fancy). I baked this smoked salmon tart as a result of my gift from Copper River Salmon for winning their first Haiku contest on Facebook.
Today, I just baked a blueberry tart. The recipe is from Dawn Viola, of Wicked Good Dinner. Her recipe is in the Edible Orlando Summer issue. This one I’m giving to my neighbor who is recovering at home from a brief stay in the hospital.
And lastly, I’m making a roasted pepper tart for my upcoming Festival Park Community Garden potluck meeting this Sunday. The peppers are from my own garden plot at FPCG, of which I am incredibly thankful. (It’s not easy to grow peppers in this heat).
Why am I somewhat obsessed with baking tarts?
It’s the perfect summer food. It can be served by itself for a light meal (the smoked salmon is all mine, Elvis doesn’t like smoked salmon or asparagus, so I get several light meals), or paired with a green salad to share with company or served for breakfast or brunch and a side of fresh fruit.
The recipe for Smoked Salmon Tart is adapted from Culinate Kitchen.
Ingredients
Pastry~I use a ready-made pie pastry. Remove from refrigerator for about 1o minutes before you roll it out.
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 leek
- 1 tablespoon butter & 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint
- 1/2 herbed goat cheese
- 2 sun-dried tomatoes
- 6 ounces Copper River smoked salmon
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon butter
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Rinse and trim asparagus. Pat dry and place on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast for ten minutes and remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. You will only need a few stalks for my version, or you can use as much as desired. Refrigerate remaining stalks.
- Cut the white part of the leek into thin slices. While asparagus is roasting, heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Saute leeks for about ten minutes, then cool in a bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whip eggs, then add cream, lemon juice and mint. Set aside.
- Roll out pre-formed pie pastry on a lightly floured cutting board. Use a rolling pie to stretch the pie pastry about 1 inch thinner so that you can fold the pastry over the mixture slightly.
- Place the pie pastry in a 9 or ten inch tart pan (with removable bottom). Add the egg and cheese mixture, it will be slightly loose. Arrange the asparagus, sun-dried tomato, leeks and smoke salmon on the mixture and fold the pastry over the edges.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Serve immediately. Refrigerate uneaten portions for up to one week.
