Asparagus Puff Pastry Tarts Party Food Ideas

I made these little mini puff pastry tarts together for a party with a friend who arrived early to help with the set up, and she couldn’t believe something so simple was just 4 ingredients! If you have a box of puff pastry in the freezer, some spreadable cream cheese (any flavor is fine, we will talk more about this!), and a bundle of fresh asparagus, you’re ready! You need a counter dusted with flour, a baking sheet, a pizza cutter (or knife), and at least 30 minutes to defrost the puff pastry from the freezer. This recipe is for using one sheet of puff pastry, but if you want to double or triple the recipe to serve more and use up all of your asparagus, it’s easy!

Ingredients

Asparagus. A one-pound bundle of fresh asparagus (at least 18 thicker spears). Do not use frozen asparagus that you have defrosted, it is too soggy and will water-log the pastry! It’s important to trim off the tough woody stems of asparagus. Each spear will tell you exactly where to break it–jut hold it horizontal and lightly bend it, the tough part will break away from the tender spear. For this recipe, it’s best to use the thicker spears. If you can only find the thin spears, use 4-5 in place of the 2 thick ones. You need 18 spears total. Puff Pastry. One sheet of frozen pre-made puff pastry in the box. Remove it from the box and let it rest at room temperature until it’s soft enough to unfold (about 15 minutes), and then let it soften for another 15 minutes, unfolded. It will take about 30 minutes to fully soften, depending on your environment. If the pastry is cracking and crumbling, it’s too cold–give it more time. Cream Cheese. A 7.5 ounce container of spreadable, flavored cream cheese. I like a vegetable cream cheese, but onion cream cheese, scallion cream cheese, and sun-dried tomato cream cheese are all great here. Choose your favorite, and match it to the wine you’re serving. Egg. We need one large egg, beaten, to act as glue to get the pastry to stick to itself when folded.

How to Make Asparagus Puff Pastry Tarts

Use a pastry brush to brush the beaten egg on two opposite corners of the square, and then gather them together and pinch closed around the spears.
Bake until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.

Flavor Variations

Vegetables - If asparagus isn’t in season, you could use fresh green beans and dill cream cheese here. Another fun variation would be strips of roasted red bell peppers with a few capers on top. Eggplant spears with diced kalamata olives and fresh basil on top would be great, too! I have to mention a sweet version with cinnamon sugar cream cheese and blackberries, too. Cream Cheese - Any cream cheese that you like works for this recipe. Just make sure it’s spreadable and soft so you don’t tear the pastry when applying. Gluten Free - You can find gluten-free puff pastry at speciality markets and use a cream cheese that you trust to be gluten-free as well.