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Arden Chapin's asparagus, ricotta and chive tart

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Prep Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

For the crust (Note: this recipe makes two crusts, so be sure to freeze one for another time!)
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 sticks cold, unsalted butter
  • 1 cup water with ice cubes
For the filling
  • 6-8 asparagus stalks
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 shallots, minced
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 10-12 small, thin chives

Method
 

For the crust
  1. Grate your cold butter using a box grater onto a plate or parchment paper and freeze the shavings for 30 minutes.
  2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix ice and water in a small bowl.
  3. Add grated frozen butter to flour mixture. Toss and smear butter between fingers until the mixture looks like pebbles. Drizzle 1/2 a cup of ice water into the mixture first, then add by the tablespoon until the dough is moistened but not wet. (It's important to work quickly, keeping everything cold, but taking care to not over mix).
  4. Dump the dough mixture onto plastic wrap, gather the edges of the wrap and form the dough into a disk. Cut the disk in half and put on two individual pieces of plastic wrap. Gently form the disks and refrigerate for at least one hour.
  5. Once chilled, roll out one of the dough disks with a heavily floured rolling pin and countertop. Begin from the center and roll out to a 12-inch round. Fold the dough in 1/2 and gently place in a 9 or 10-inch tart pan. Either trim the top or run your rolling pin over the top of the tart pan to trim an excess dough.
  6. Pierce the entire dough all over with a fork and put the crust in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
  7. Blind bake your crust. Line crust with aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray. Tighlty line the crust with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 20 minutes.
  8. Remove from oven and remove foil and weights. Return to oven for about 15 minutes to fully set the crust. Remove when slightly browned.
For the filling
  1. Vigorously whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Set aside.
  2. Lightly steam trimmed asparagus. Drain and plunge into ice bath and dry.
  3. Melt butter, sauté minced shallot and garlic until translucent. Remove from heat.
To assemble
  1. Smear the butter and shallot mix onto the warm crust then fill with egg mixture. Gently add asparagus spears, dollops of ricotta and chives.
  2. Slide the tart back into the oven. After 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
  3. Bake until egg mixture is set, about 25 minutes.
  4. Cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!