Spring Asparagus Tart with Sweet Potato Crust
My Spring Asparagus Tart with Sweet Potato Crust recipe pays homage to a little cafe we ate at in Sintra, Portugal. If you ever get a chance to go Europe, I HIGHLY suggest you hop on over to Portugal. You will be greeted with the best seafood, delicious desserts, cobblestone streets and hidden treasures like the city of Sintra. While on our honeymoon in Spain back in 2017, my husband and I made a last minute decision to fly from Barcelona to Lisbon. {Lisbon totally deserves its own blog post!} While we were there we did a day trip to Sintra.
At that time , I was had been Paleo for well over a year and so when I ate out, I tried my best to make it at least gluten free and dairy free. On vacations it can be hard to find healthy options. Barcelona was like a health lovers heaven when it came to options and so was Lisbon. But when we arrived in the resort town of Sintra, I didn’t know what to expect. After stepping off the train and exploring a bit, we stumbled upon a place called Ekvilibro {I didn’t locate a website for them but this the link to their Instagram}.
They are a yoga studio/wellness place with a cafe. There I had the BEST sweet potato crust quiche that was served with a salad. I have been thinking about that quiche ever since. Their sweet potato crust had texture. So when it was time for me recreate this dish, it was important to me to have that same bite.
I knew that a frozen puff pastry or crust wouldn’t cut it.
What kind of flour do you use when making a Sweet Potato Crust?
The quiche from Ekvilibro if I remember correctly was grain free and dairy free. My recipe does have grain but is still gluten free. Between all my gluten free flour options, I used Just About Foods All Purpose Flour from Costco. The texture I have experienced with this flour has been a little more dense and thicker, so it seemed like the best one to use to achieve what I was looking for. I haven’t tried it with another kind of gluten free flour but any all purpose GF flour should work as a substitute.
Is the sweet potato cooked when you are making the crust?
The sweet potato should be cooked when you are using it to make the crust. You can steam your sweet potato or you can oven roast it. The texture should be mashable. So think about molding it into the crust, you don’t want it to be too runny or mushy, you just want it to be soft. Once you steam or roast it, don’t add any liquid to it as you mash it. A touch of salt and pepper is good for seasoning but forego any milk and such. Make sure to cover your work surface with some flour as well to make rolling it out a little easier.
Quick tips:
Since this is made in a tart pan, when pre-baking the crust, you want to make sure to place it on a baking sheet. I didn’t use parchment paper to line the bottom of the tart pan, but you can if you like. Just make sure the parchment paper isn’t touching the ridges of the pan so that your crust will be even. Also, fresh asparagus is used in this recipe.
Looking for more breakfast inspiration? Check out my other easy brunch recipes here !
Let’s make a Spring Asparagus Tart with Sweet Potato Crust !
Spring Asparagus Tart with Sweet Potato Crust
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- tart pan
- 2 baking sheets
- 2 large bowls
Ingredients
- 15 asparagus spears fresh
- 4 large eggs, whole
- 1 large lemon lemon zest and lemon juice
- 1/2 cup quattro cheese (Trader Joe's) or sub with parmesan cheese
- 1/2-1 teaspoon fresh dill chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup milk I used 2%
Sweet Potato Crust
- 1/2 cup sweet potato (medium size) peeled & cooked/steamed or oven roasted
- 1 cup all purpose gluten free flour I used "Just About Foods" from Costco
- 3 tablespoons butter cold, cubed, unsalted
- 3 1/2 tablespoons ice water
- cooking spray pam non stick spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. The easiest way for the sweet potato to be cooked is steaming. Wash and peel the skin. Poke some holes with a fork and wrap in a paper towels. Place in the microwave for about 5-6 minutes. Be careful, it will be hot when you remove it.
- To prepare your crust, take the sweet potato, mash it down or puree gently and a dash of salt. The sweet potato should not be too runny.
- In a large bowl, combine the sweet potato, gluten free flour, cold butter cubes and the ice water. Mix together to form a dough. Spread a little more flour on the surface and gently roll out your dough to fit your tart pan.
- Spray the tart pan with the cooking spray. Press the dough into the tart, making sure it's fully reaching the sides of the pan.
- Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 min.
- When the crust is done, remove carefully and turn the oven temperature back down to 375 degrees.
- For the asparagus, place on the other baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with a touch of salt and pepper. Place in oven for about 4 minutes.
- In a large bowl, prepare your filling by adding the eggs, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest and dill and season with salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
- Place the cooked asparagus in the tart pan. Then pour the mixture on top. Sprinkle the cheese all over.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. The tart will be slightly brown and will puff up and the crust will be golden brown.
- Carefully remove the tart from the oven and let it cool down for 5-10 minutes. Then serve this beautiful pie while warm.Enjoy!
