This delicious Asparagus Tart with Serrano Ham is surprisingly easy to make. Using the goodness of wholemeal pastry filled with the richness of eggs, milk and cheese. A great choice for a light lunch. If serving as picnic food, take with you some Ham and Cheese Pinwheels some Biscoff Swirls with Chocolate Chips and some Homemade Croutons to nibble on.
Don't be afraid to make pastry. As a first time pastry maker, you may like to try this Easy Apple Tart where no tart tin is needed.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used to make this easy Asparagus Quiche with possible alternatives and why I may have used them.
- Flour - Spelt Wholemeal flour. You can use any wholemeal flour which gives a really nice wholesome nutty taste to the pastry. Using plain white flour is fine, but the taste and texture will be different.
- Fat's - When making some savoury tarts I like to use a mix of butter and Trex which is a vegetable based cooking block. Crisco is another brand name.
- Cheese- Cheddar cheese or any firm cheese is fine.
- Ham - Use thin slices of ham such as Serrano. If you have any other kind of cooked ham left over in the fridge you can use that.
- Milk - I used whole milk for this recipe. Using a mix of cream and milk is fine.
- Asparagus - Break off the woody ends and freeze them to flavour soups in winter.
- Eggs - Medium size. Free range and organic if possible.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and quantities.
Step By Step Instructions
To make this Asparagus Cheese Tart follow the step by step instructions. Read through them a few times before you begin.
Step 1: Grease the base and sides of an 8 inch (20cm) tart tin.
Step 2 Make the Wholemeal Shortcrust Pastry.
- Food Processor Method - Blitz together the flour, salt, butter and trex until you have a fine breadcrumb consistency. This should only take a few seconds. Add enough of the very cold water to make a smooth dough with a putter texture. Note: You may not need all the water.
- Rubbing in Method - Using your fingertips, rub the flour, salt, butter and trex together until you reach fine breadcrumbs. This will take a few minutes. Add enough water as above and bring it all together until you have a smooth dough. Do not overhandle the dough as this sometimes makes it tough when baked.
- Flatten the dough a little, then wrap it in cling film and leave it in the fridge for about 30 mins to rest.
Step 3: When rested take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out between two sheets of baking parchment, to about 3 mm thick and large enough to line your 8” tart tin. You will find more details on How To Line A Tart Tin With Pastry.. Press the dough firmly into the tart tin leaving the remaining dough overlapping the sides. Using your rolling pin, roll over the top of the tart tin to cut through the pastry. Tip: Freeze any offcuts to make a quick pie topping another time.
Step 4: Using a fork, prick the base of the pastry at intervals. This helps the pastry remain flat during blind baking allowing any air bubbles to escape.
Step 5: Cover the pastry base with crunched up baking parchment and return the dough back to the fridge and leave for a further 10 mins while you preheat the oven to 200c deg fan assisted. TIP: Covering the pastry dough while in the fridge, helps prevent it from drying out.
Step 6: When ready to blind bake, remove the pastry from the fridge and add enough dried beans to cover the baking parchment and fill the pastry case.
Step 7: Bake for 20 mins or until the pastry feels dry to the touch. Remove the parchment and beans and return to the oven for 2 more minutes to dry a little more. When baked, turn the oven down to 170 deg.
Step 8: In a large jug, mix together the milk, cheese, eggs and season to taste. Give everything a good mix. Pour the milk mixture into the baked shortcrust pastry tart. Arrange the ribbons of ham, then arrange the asparagus tips over the top of the Serrano Ham. TIP: Cut the Asparagus down to size if needed, and use the ends to fill any gaps. Add more grated cheese on the top if you wish.
Step 9: Bake in the oven for about 20 - 25 mins or until baked in the centre with a golden colour on the top.
Cook's Tips
- Store Asparagus and Cheese tart in the fridge. It will keep for a few days.
- Serve warm, but let it cool a little before slicing.
- Save and freeze leftover pastry to use as a simple but quick pastry topping for a pie. Or re roll and cut into savour biscuits. They will only take a couple of minutes to bake.
- Covering the pastry dough while in the fridge, helps prevent it from drying out.
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FAQ
Traditionally, the British Asparagus season runs for about 8 weeks from late April towards the end of Jun. This also depends on the weather conditions they are grown in.
More Pastry Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Picnic Food
These are my favourite dishes to serve for a picnic or tea in the garden. Take with you lots of green salad, fresh tomatoes and some Homemade Croutons to nibble on.
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Recipe
Asparagus Tart with Serrano Ham
Equipment
- 1 loose bottom tart tin 8 inch (20cm)
- Baking Parchment
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 150 g Wholemeal flour such as spelt flour.
- ¼ level teaspoon sea salt
- 50 g unsalted butter fridge cold cut into cubes
- 25 g vegetable block such as Trex or Crisco
- 35 g very cold water
For the Filling
- 150 ml whole milk
- 50 g cheddar cheese grated
- 2 medium eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- 35 g Serrano Ham about 5 thin slices
- 10 Asparagus tips.
- 30 g cheddar cheese grated optional topping
Instructions
- Step 1: Grease the base and sides of an 8 inch (20cm) tart tin.
- Step 2 Make the Wholemeal Shortcrust Pastry
- Food Processor Method - Blitz together the flour, salt, butter and trex until you have a fine breadcrumb consistency. This should only take a few seconds. Add enough of the very cold water to make a smooth dough with a putter texture. Note: You may not need all the water.150 g Wholemeal flour such as spelt flour., ¼ level teaspoon sea salt, 50 g unsalted butter fridge cold cut into cubes, 25 g vegetable block such as Trex or Crisco, 35 g very cold water
- Rubbing in Method - Using your fingertips, rub the flour, salt, butter and trex together until you reach fine breadcrumbs. This will take a few minutes. Add enough water as above and bring it all together until you have a smooth dough. Do not overhandle the dough as this sometimes makes it tough when baked.
- Flatten the dough a little, then wrap it in cling film and leave it in the fridge for about 30 mins to rest.
- Step 3: When rested take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out between two sheets of baking parchment, to about 3 mm thick and large enough to line your 8” tart tin. Press the dough firmly into the tart tin leaving the remaining dough overlapping the sides. Using your rolling pin, roll over the top of the tart tin to cut through the pastry. Tip: Freeze any offcuts to make a quick pie topping another time.
- Step 4: Using a fork, prick the base of the pastry at intervals. This helps the pastry remain flat during blind baking allowing any air bubbles to escape.
- Step 5: Cover the pastry base with crunched up baking parchment and return the dough back to the fridge and leave for a further 10 mins while you preheat the oven to 200c deg fan assisted. TIP: Covering the pastry dough while in the fridge, helps prevent it from drying out.
- Step 6: When ready to blind bake, remove the pastry from the fridge and add enough dried beans to cover the baking parchment and fill the pastry case.
- Step 7: Bake for 20 mins or until the pastry feels dry to the touch. Remove the parchment and beans and return to the oven for 2 more minutes to dry a little more. When baked, turn the oven down to 170 deg.
Make the Asparagus Filling
- Step 8: In a large jug, mix together the milk, cheese, eggs and season to taste. Give everything a good mix. Pour the milk mixture into the baked shortcrust pastry tart. Arrange the ribbons of ham, then arrange the asparagus tips over the top of the Serrano Ham. TIP: Cut the Asparagus down to size if needed, and use the ends to fill any gaps. Add more grated cheese if you wish.150 ml whole milk, 50 g cheddar cheese, 2 medium eggs, Salt and pepper to taste., 35 g Serrano Ham about 5 thin slices, 10 Asparagus tips., 30 g cheddar cheese grated
- Step 9: Bake in the oven for about 20 - 25 mins or until baked in the centre with a golden colour on the top.
Your Private Notes
Notes
- Store this tart in the fridge. It will keep for a few days.
- Serve warm, but let it cool a little before slicing.
- Save and freeze leftover pastry to use as a simple but quick pastry topping for a pie. Or re roll and cut into savour biscuits. They will only take a couple of minutes to bake.
- Covering the pastry dough while in the fridge, helps prevent it from drying out.
Nutrition
Note: Recipes are tested using Metric only. The provided nutrition information is an estimate for the entire recipe, the calorie accuracy nutritional facts, unit and portion conversion are calculated by a third party app. and are not guaranteed.
Alex Welch
I haven't actually tried your quiche/tart recipes so far, only having recently joined. But I do feel that I should make a comment about the fillings. Nowhere near enough. If my filling doesn't threaten to spill out on the way to the oven, then I haven't used enough.
Lynn
Thanks for commenting. Feel free to add more filling. I know what you mean about the mixture wanting to spill over the top. If that happens to you, and you have a lot of filling, place the tart/quiche in the oven on a baking tray and pour the last few drops of filling into the pastry case. It should stop any overspill.