RECIPE BY: Jennifer Beachey
co-owner of Parkland, Kyneton
The Parkland, Mark Renaud, works with the seasons to get the best flavours and freshest ingredients. Our style is modern Australian, which lends itself to endless influences that our colourful communities from the Macedon Ranges gift us. Kyneton is passionate and full of forward-thinking food and wine producers.
I love bringing seasonal flavours into the kitchen and making a savoury tart. Much-loved Holy Goat cheese producers, based in Sutton Grange, supply us with incredible goats’ cheese.
Prep: 20 minutes / Bake: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
Pastry
200g plain flour
150g cold unsalted butter – chopped
1 egg – (try Honest Eggs, Yandoit) Filling
2 bunches of white or purple asparagus, trimmed
30g butter
6 shallots, peeled and chopped finely
1½ tbs finely chopped chervil (save extra sprigs to serve)
150g soft Holy Goat Black Silk cheese
2 egg yolks and 1 egg
¾ cup of cream
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
Method
For the pastry, process flour and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add your egg, combined with 1 tbsp iced water, and process until the pastry comes together. Form into a flat rectangle, wrap in baking paper, and refrigerate for an hour.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, and line a 12 x 35cm rectangular tart tin with a removable base. Prick the base with a fork, cover, and refrigerate for a further hour. Line your pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans and bake at 180 degrees for 20 mins. Remove the beans and bake for a further 10 minutes until the pastry is crisp.
Meanwhile, cook your asparagus in boiling salted water until tender then refresh in iced water for 2 minutes, drain and set aside. Heat the butter in a small frying pan and add your shallots. Cook over low heat, continually stirring until they are soft. Stir in chervil and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove your pan from the heat and spread your shallots over the pastry base. Crumble goats’ cheese over the top of the shallots. Trim the ends of your asparagus to fit the tart and then lay the spears across at 5mm intervals.
Combine your eggs, lemon zest, cream and egg yolks in a bowl and season. Carefully pour your mixture over the asparagus. Place tart on a baking tray and bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes until the filling sets. Combine extra chervil, dress with a dash of olive oil and lemon juice and dress on top of the tart.
To add a little salty crunch to this tart, you can pan-fry a few strips of local Istra pancetta in a hot frying pan, allow it to cool before cracking over the top of the tart before serving. The crispy, saltiness of the pancetta works well with the cream cheese and asparagus.
Serve your tart with a crisp, green, herby salad with a lemon dressing. Grab a fabulous bottle of a local white wine like Granite Hills riesling.
