Asparagus Tart

Where Spring Rests, Quietly Golden

There is a particular pleasure in a tart pulled fresh from the oven — the way the pastry exhales into something burnished and light, the edges risen just enough to cradle what's inside. This one belongs to that tender window when asparagus is at its most honest, when the season feels both abundant and fleeting. It asks very little of you and returns something quietly elegant — the kind of thing you set on a table and watch disappear without quite noticing how.

Ingredients

• 1 frozen puffed pastry sheet, thawed
• flour, for sprinkling
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Alessi Balsamic Reduction, drizzled
• 1/2 shalot, minced
• 1 cup Gruyère cheese, grated
• 1 cup Havarti cheese, grated
• 1 pound asparagus, with woody ends trimmed
• 1 tablespoon Alessi Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Alessi Sea Salt and Black Peppercorns, to taste
• Pecorino Romano cheese, grated for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Lay thawed puff pastry flat on a floured surface.
3. Roll out into a rectangle.
4. Transfer onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and use a fork to prick dough everywhere except outer border (that will be the puffed crust).
5. Whisk together one egg with one tablespoon of milk. Use a brush to paint egg wash onto the border of pastry dough.
6. Drizzle balsamic reduction over center of the puff pastry. Top with minced shallot, then Gruyère and Havarti.
7. Lightly coat asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. Layer on top of cheese.
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Pull pastry out when golden brown color.
9. Garnish with flaky salt, freshly cracked black pepper and freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
10. Slice, serve, and savor.