Vegetarian Mondays and CLICK!

Awhile back, I announced that Tim and I were going to try to eat vegetarian at least a few times a week - not that much of a challenge for us because it wasn't like we always had meat for dinner, but I really wanted to up the caliber of our meatless dinners as well as reduce our meat intake for personal reasons (some of which can be found here).

To give an update, we have been doing great! I have not been all that great about blogging all of our meatless meals because they usually occur on a weeknight and I have serious issues shooting food in the dark, BUT today you are in luck! This recipe was so good that I had to post it. So simple and good is what I should say. Seriously - only about 4 ingredients!

Asparagus & Gruyere Tart (adapted from Everyday Food)

Ingredients

1 sheet puffed pastry, thawed

1-2 bunches of asparagus, ends trimmed

1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Kosher salt/pepper

Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing

Steps

1. Prepare puffed pastry. You only need one sheet. Thaw it per the directions on the package (unless you make your own puffed pastry, then you are seriously amazing). Note: don't leave it to thaw too long prior to baking. The first time I made this tart, I left my dough out to thaw on the sheet pan a few hours while I was doing other things and it did not rise properly.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough out to an approximately 16 x 10-inch rectangle (Mine was more like a square and it really does not matter too much - just don't spread the dough out too much) on a lightly floured board.

3. Transfer to baking sheet and lightly score the dough approximately 1-inch from the edge to mark a rectangle. This is the area that will puff up the most during baking. Prick the inner area with a fork approximately every 1/2 inch. If you care if your tart is a perfect shape, you can also trim the edges to make all sides even. Bake until puffed and lightly golden, approximately 15 minutes. Make sure you don't overbake during this round because the second time around, it will burn (learned from personal experience :).

4. After the tart shell is baked, cut asparagus to fit the inner area of the tart. Put shredded/grated cheeses in the bottom of the tart shell. Fit asparagus in rows (alternating ends and tips) over cheese to fill tart. Brush with olive oil and season with salt/pepper. Bake until asparagus are tender (approximately 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your spears).

This dish was perfect as part of a main course and also as a side dish (I brought it to Easter dinner and it went over great!).
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Not to take away from the great recipe above :), but I am really excited about CLICK this month! The theme for this monthly food photography event was metal and I was determined to get out a photograph that I loved before the deadline. So, here is my take on metal in the kitchen!

CLICK: March 2008: Metal Essentials...