What is more Springtime than Asparagus?

Originally Published 04/01/2021

This recipe makes a beautiful Spring Asparagus Tart built on flakey puff pastry layered with a dill béchamel, fresh radishes, purple potatoes, asparagus, crispy bacon, and smoked gouda cheese.

Have you ever been asparagus hunting in the wild? Haha and by wild, I mean next to the road? Maybe this is just a thing we did in Wyoming growing up. But I’ve got this fuzzy memory of looking for it alongside a country dirt road with my mom and grandma.

I can’t say as a kid it was my favorite vegetable, but as an adult I love it! Probably because it always seems to be paired with other amazingly delicious things like bacon or hollandaise. Mmm….hollandaise…

Anyway, I’ve been staring at fresh, beautiful asparagus recipes all over my Instagram feed this last week.  I didn’t want to be left out of the fun so I give to you an Asparagus Tart with Bacon and Smoked Gouda! It’s easy, tasty, and would work for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner!

(Seriously though, my hubby and I threw a fried egg on top of the leftover slices the next morning and it was delish.) So on to the recipe for this Asparagus Tart!

Not gonna lie…

I cheated and used store-bought puff pastry. It was in the refrigerated section, next to the cookie dough and cinnamon rolls and I thought I’d give it a try. Prepackaged pastry dough will never hold a candle to the real homemade deal, but on a lazy day, it works! Also, this sheet of dough perfectly fits a 1/2 sheet baking pan which is what I used for this Asparagus Tart.

So, start off by preheating the oven, grating the smoked gouda cheese, and slicing the potatoes and radish super thin so they cook through while the tart is baking.

Purple potatoes make me happy. I guess because they’re so pretty and something different to look at. You can just use regular baby potatoes too.

Also, we love radishes at our house and this ruby root is also a springtime regular. However, if you don’t care for radishes feel free to leave them off. Your tart will still taste amazing without them!

Only one frying pan is necessary for this entire Asparagus Tart recipe.

Start out by cooking the chopped bacon. Remember it’s going to get toasted even more while it’s baking in the oven so don’t go overboard frying it. 

Once the bacon is done, scoop it out of the pan and let it sit on a paper towel to soak up some of the extra grease.

Make sure to save 4 tbsp of the bacon grease for the béchamel and sautéing the asparagus. Discard the rest.

In the same pan, use 2 tbsp to briefly sauté the asparagus, and then once they are done and set to the side, use the remaining 2 tbsp of bacon grease for the béchamel sauce.

What is béchamel?

An article on Bon Appetit says, “The first thing you’ve got to know about béchamel is that it’s what’s known as a ‘mother sauce.’ (And no, a mother sauce is not a sauce that signs permission slips or helps you with your homework.) A mother sauce is one of the building blocks of classic French cuisine—a sauce used to make other sauces. There are five mother sauces…

In its purest form, béchamel is comprised of butter and flour that have been cooked together (a mixture that’s also known as a roux) and milk, with just a bit of seasoning. The result is a silky cream sauce that can be used either on its own or as the base for countless other sauces.”

In this recipe for the Asparagus Tart, I’ve substituted bacon grease for butter and it’s pretty delicious! Also, there’s something so light and refreshing about dill. This in combination with the lemon juice balances out the heavier flavors of asparagus, bacon, and smoked gouda.

Honestly, it’s probably my favorite part about this whole Asparagus Tart!

Before assembling the Asparagus tart,

roll out and bake the puff pastry for 5-6 minutes first. If you’re a fan of The Great British Baking Show, you know soggy bottoms will not be tolerated!

After this pre-bake, start by layering on the dill béchamel, then the potatoes and radishes, asparagus, bacon, and finally the smoked gouda!

Bake at 425 for 25-35 minutes or until the puff pastry is a nice golden brown, as well as the smoked gouda cheese! That’s it! Cut it into squares and serve immediately!

How can something so simple be so good? As I mentioned above, if you end up with leftovers, a fried egg over the top makes for a great brunch! If you need a fun springtime dish, I hope you give this one a shot! Let me know how it goes! As always, thanks for reading!

Print Recipe

Asparagus Tart with Bacon & Smoked Gouda

A beautiful Spring tart built on flakey puff pastry layered with a dill béchamel, fresh radishes, purple potatoes, asparagus, crispy bacon, and smoked gouda cheese.

Prep Time35 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Pre-bake6 minutes mins

Course: Brunch, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Asparagus, Asparagus Tart, Béchamel, Dill, Smoked Gouda, Spring Recipe, Tart

Servings: 8 Slices

Equipment

• 1/2 Sheet Baking Pan
• Frying Pan
• Cutting Board and Knife
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Cheese Grater

Ingredients

Tart Toppings

• 3 Purple Baby Potatoes
• 4 Radishes
• 1 bunch Asparagus
• 1/2 lb Bacon chopped
• 1 Cup Smoked Gouda

Dill Béchamel

• 2 tbsp Bacon Grease
• 2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Dried Dill
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• 1/8 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/3 Cup Whole Milk
• 1 roll Puff Pastry

Instructions

Tart

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Grate 1 cup of smoked gouda cheese and set to the side.
• Rinse the potatoes and radishes and then slice them into very thin rounds. Set to the side.
• Cut the 1/2 lb. of bacon into smaller pieces and add to the frying pan. Fry over medium-low heat until golden brown and crispy. Remove the bacon bits from the pan and place them on a plate covered with a paper towel to soak up the excess grease. Discard all the bacon grease except for 4 tbsp saved in a small heat-proof container for later.
• Rinse the asparagus and put in the frying pan with 2 tbsp of bacon grease. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes until the asparagus just begins to soften. Take out of the frying pan and set to the side.
• Get the chilled puff pastry out of the fridge and carefully unroll it onto the 1/2 baking sheet leaving the parchment it comes with underneath it. Place it in the oven and pre-bake it for 5-6 minutes, until it just starts to puff up. While it is baking you can make the dill béchamel.

Dill Béchamel

• Add the remaining 2 tbsp of bacon grease to the frying pan as well as 2 tbsp of flour and begin stirring with a whisk, cooking over medium-low heat. Once the flour has soaked up all the bacon grease add in the 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice, salt, pepper, dill, onion powder, and garlic powder, keep stirring to combine. Finally, add in 1/3 cup of whole milk. Whisk just until the sauce begins to thicken and no flour lumps remain. Immediately remove from the heat.

Assemble

• Remove the pre-baked tart from the oven and start by evenly spreading the dill béchamel sauce all over the bottom. Next, layer the sliced potatoes and radishes over the sauce. After this comes the asparagus. Finally, sprinkle the top with the bacon bits and grated smoked gouda cheese.
• Place in the oven and bake 25-35 minutes until the puff pastry crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and crisp in spots.
• Remove from the oven, slice into squares and enjoy!

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