• Serves 8
The buttery pastry gives this tart a beautiful crisp texture, making the cream filling like a custard, produces a real creamy delicious feast unlike a egg custard which can be a little over set.
Pastry
Ingredients
- 400gm plain flour
- 200 gm unsalted butter
- 1 whole egg
- 2 egg yolks
- a little warm water, just to bind
Method
- First make the pastry
- Cut the butter into small pieces and rub into the flour.
- Gently whisk egg and yolks and mix in until starts coming together as a paste.
- Add a little warm water until sooth and pliable.
- Work the pastry for 5 minutes, then shape into a round 1 inch thick.
- Wrap in cling film and leave in a cool place for 1 hour. Meanwhile make the filling.
Filling
Ingredients
- 300 ml milk
- 300 ml double cream
- 1 onion for infusion
- 1 clove garlic for infusion
- 5 cloves for infusion
- 1 tablespoon black pepper corns for infusion
- Good pinch nutmeg for infusion
- 2 bay leaves for infusion
- 8 egg yolks
- 2 onions peeled and fine sliced
- 2 bunches thick steamed asparagus (800 gm) trimmed
- 200 gm smoked applewood cheddar (fine grated)
Method
- Bring the milk and cream to the boil with all the infusion ingredients, simmer gently for 10 minutes then allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Pre-heat oven to 150 C
- Meanwhile blanch the asparagus in boiling water with lemon and salt for 4 minutes, then rapidly cool under running tap. Gently sauté the sliced onion in a little olive oil until just taking colour, then set aside.
- Strain the infused milk and cream onto the egg yokes and mix gently. Return to milk pan on a low heat and while stirring constantly with wooded spoon, heat until the mix thickens – like a custard. (DO NOT BOIL – as eggs will be scrambled!).
- When the mix coats the back of the wooden spoon, strain again.
- Roll the pastry to comfortably line a 10 inch x 1 inch deep loose bottomed flan mould. Fill the pastry with greaseproof paper and enough dried beans/ pulses to prevent the pastry from collapsing. Blind bake for 8 minutes @ 150 C.
- Remove greaseproof liner from pastry, add 1/3 of the cream milk custard, then add half the asparagus and layer half the sautéed onion and season. Add another 1/3 of the custard then the remaining asparagus and onion. Finally pour on the remaining custard and top equally with the grated smoked applewood cheddar.
- Bake @ 140 C for just 25 to 30 minutes or until the mix has 'just' set
