Shaved Asparagus Tart

We went to a St. Patrick's Day party at my cousin's house on Saturday and I wanted to bring something that was green, but fresh and seasonal. There's heaps of asparagus in stores right now and I've wanted to try a shaved asparagus salad for a while - I topped cheese and pesto baked puff pastry with a lightly dressed shaved asparagus salad. It was fresh, light and tasty. A great spring appetizer.

Shaved Asparagus Tart

1 450g package of puff pastry, I'm a big fan of this one as it's pre-rolled, 2 per pkg.

1 package of boursin cheese (150g)

2 tbsp pesto

25 asparagus spears

Dressing

2 tbsp olive oil

juice and zest of a lemon

1tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp honey

generous pinch of salt

pepper to taste

• Fresh Parmesan shavings to garnish

Preheat oven to 375°.

Roll out half the puff pastry to the size of a standard sheet tray, it may be a little short, no worries. Put the puff pastry on a silpat lined sheet tray. Spread 1 tbsp of pesto on the puff pastry, spread half of the boursin on top of the pesto, they will combine together into a creamy deliciousness.

Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown, make sure the bottom has nice colour too. Let cool on a drying rack. 

Repeat with remaining puff pastry, pesto and boursin.

With a vegetable peeler, shave the asparagus. Don't snap off ends - they're useful to hold on to while you peel. While holding on to the base of the asparagus, peel  long shavings, they won't all be even lengths, or perfect thickness, but that's totally ok.

In a small jar, combine all the dressing ingredients and shake well. The dressing will be thick.

Toss the asparagus with the dressing.

Cut the tart into 2.5" - 3" squares, put a little bit of the asparagus salad on each square of the tart, about 1-2 tbsp  and top with a shaving of asparagus.

Season with salt and pepper if you want.