When Wild Garlic (Ramsons) emerges you know that Spring is on its way. The marvellous mild garlic taste of cooked Wild Garlic makes this tart recipe a great way to welcome back the return of the sun after many months of Winter. It’s one of the season’s first plants to forage, wild garlic is easy to identify thanks to its strong garlicky, spring onion scent. It often grows in shady, damp, areas, near a water source. Once the plant matures, small white flowers appear which are lovely to use as a garnish. Unlike regular garlic you eat the leaves, which add a great burst of flavour to salads or can be wilted like spinach and used in numerous recipes.
Wild Garlic, Asparagus & Camembert Tart
As you can see from my photo I have served my tart with a green salad and a mixed tomato salad with a balsamic dressing and garnished with wild garlic flowers.
Servings: 9 Portions
Ingredients
- 125 g Plain Flour
- 75 g Wholemeal Spelt Flour
- 100 g Cold Butter diced
- 31/2 Tbls Ice Cold Water
- Pinch of Salt
- 80 g Wild Garlic
- 1/2 Ripe Camembert
- 1 Bunch Asparagus woody end removed
- 75 mls Creme Fraiche
- 250 mls Milk
- 2 Eggs & 1 Egg Yolk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180℃. Place the plain flour and spelt in a food processor with the salt and the butter. Pulse until the mixture until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the water and pulse until it just comes together as a dough. Don't over mix. Bring the pastry together into a ball and wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for 25 minutes.
- Roll the pastry out until it's approximately 6cm bigger than the tart tin, carefully line the tin, leaving the excess pastry hanging over the side. Prick with a fork and line with baking beans. Place on a baking tray and pop it in the oven for 15 minutes. Once the time is up remove the baking beans and leave in the oven for a further 10 minutes.
- While the case is baking, blanch the asparagus in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes, plunge into ice cold water. Wash the wild garlic then chop the stalks finely and then roughly chop the leaves.
- Crack the eggs and yolk into a jug and whisk vigorously with a hand whisk. Add the creme fraiche and milk and whisk again. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Place the chopped wild garlic stalks and leaves in the base of the pastry case, arrange the asparagus on top and then slice the camembert and place in between the asparagus. Place the tart near the oven and carefully pour the egg mixture into the pastry case. Carefully place in the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Once cooked remove from the oven to cool for 30 minutes. Shave off the excess pastry with a microplane. Serve warm.
Notes
25cm Tart Tin
A favourite tart of mine for Spring. If you can’t find wild garlic substitute it with 80g of baby leaf spinach and add a small, crushed clove of garlic.
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