A Lovely Potato and Asparagus Tart

Recently, uber-talented blog friend Cristina from Cristina From Buenos Aires to Paris posted an Asparagus and Orange Cream Tart. It looked like it would be light and delicious with an unusual combination of an orange-flavored cream and asparagus....very appealing. I was going to make it this weekend with the lovely asparagus in the market right now. And then I got sidetracked with another tart I watched Jamie Oliver make the other day. It had me salivating. Now to the eye, one would think the two tarts were identical. But Cristina used puff pastry and the orange creme is light in texture and contained crème fraiche.  Jamie's was crispy phyllo dough and plain old mashed potatoes, so comforting.....and perhaps appealing more to men?  You have to admit, there is just something about this combo: potatoes mashed with whipping cream, eggs and cheese....phyllo pastry....and fresh asparagus. What's not to like? I mean really. 

So I made it yesterday. What a perfect side for grilled meats or fish. Actually, I ate it for dinner, forget the protein. I hope you've worked with phyllo. If not, there are quite a few videos online that explain everything. It's really quite simple. And the soft filling of this tart balances so well with the crispiness of the phyllo.

The only changes I would make to this recipe would be to use a bit more asparagus on top AND perhaps add some sautéed scallions to the  mashed potatoes.

But I promise, Cristina, I will be making your lovely tart next weekend!  :) It will be absolutely perfect for some ladies I have coming for lunch.

Potato and Asparagus Tart
Recipe from Jamie at Home HERE.

 Ingredients:
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Sea salt 
1 pound asparagus spears, woody ends removed, blanched
8 ounces phyllo pastry 
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup freshly grated Lancashire cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Cheddar
3 large organic or free-range eggs 
1 cup (8-ounces) heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Put your potatoes into a pan of salted boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile blanch your asparagus in a separate pan of salted boiling water for 4 minutes, and drain in a colander. 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Get an ovenproof dish - I used a rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom. Layer the sheets of filo pastry in the dish, brushing them with melted butter as you go and letting about 1-inch hang over the edge. You want to get the pastry about 5 layers thick. Put a clean, damp kitchen towel over the top and put aside.

When the potatoes are done, mash them with the cheeses. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs and cream and stir into your cheesy mashed potato. Grate in the nutmeg, season well with pepper and mix together. Spread the mashed potato (it will be looser than you expect) over the phyllo pastry, then bring up the sides of the phyllo and scrunch them together to form a rim. Take your blanched asparagus and line them up across the filling, making sure you cover it all. Brush all over with the remaining melted butter and pop into the preheated oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Serve just as you would a quiche for a quick lunch or supper, with a salad.

Roasted Radish and Potato Salad (and the Mother's Day Giveaway Winners!)

Do you love radishes as much as I do? One of my favorite ways to serve them for company is an idea I got from Ina Garten ages ago: stems on,  with a dish of sea salt, accompanied by a baguette with herb butter. Sheer heaven. Or how about a toasted slice of grain bread, slathered with some unsalted butter and topped with some sliced radishes and sea salt? Perfect on a summer's day. When I lived in Michigan, my garden was chock full of radishes. I used to yank them out of the ground, rinse them off with a garden hose and eat them then and there. Now I have to buy them at the farmer's market or Fresh Market. 

The other day I was blog-crawling and came across a couple marvelous radish recipes from Cathy at Noble Pig. One was for a radish tart and the other for a roasted radish and potato salad. I decided to try the salad first and if I loved it, the tart would follow shortly after. One thing I loved about this recipe was Cathy used the radish greens...which usually find their way into the trash at my house. They're gritty little things and take a lot of rinsing, but it's well worth the effort. Radish greens have a slightly bitter taste, but then so does arugula and I love that. If you don't like arugula, you just might not like radish greens. Then go ahead and use any greens you want. But please rinse a couple off and try them first.

Now as far as the roasted radishes are concerned, I could kick myself! It just never occurred to me to roast radishes. I did some serious re-thinking on the subject after I came across an article HERE. So I thought: I roast every other veggie, why not radishes? As it turns out, they taste rather like very mild turnips. The texture, surprisingly, was like a potato. And when the radish greens are mixed in (while the potatoes and radishes are still warm, please) and then dressed with this simple vinaigrette, you're going to be astounded. It was fabulous. You'll be making this over and over this summer. And if you're lucky enough to have radishes in your garden, be sure to roast them and try them with other dishes. What a find this recipe is. Thank you Cathy!                                                                          

Roasted Radish and Potato Salad

From Cuisine at Home via Noble Pig

Ingredients:
1 lb. radishes, trimmed and quartered (reserve greens)
1 lb new potatoes, quartered
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat oven to 425^o F with a large baking sheet inside.

Toss radishes, potatoes, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl to coat.  Transfer mixture to hot baking sheet in oven.  Roast until golden, 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through roasting. 

In the meantime, wash radish greens in several changes of cold water and spin dry.  For the vinaigrette whisk together vinegar, 3 Tablespoons oil, Dijon, parsley and dill in a bowl until combined; season with salt and pepper.  Stir radish greens into roasted radishes and potatoes and add vinaigrette.

And now for the winners of the Mother's Day Giveaway!
Congratulations to:

Susan from Savoring Time in the Kitchen  (Heidi's book)

Joanne from Eats Well With Others (Heidi's book)
Barbara from Barbara Bakes (Kim's book)
T.W. Barritt from Culinary Types (Kim's book)

Please email me at bsmithw@gmail.com and give me your addresses so I can get them into the mail to you ASAP!

Happy Easter!

I'd also like to wish a Happy Passover to all my Jewish friends and readers!  

PLEASE  CHECK  OUT  MY  MOTHER'S  DAY  GIVEAWAY HERE! (Winners announced Monday, April 25.)