Last night I made this vegetarian tart I found in the Dish magazine. It is all vegetables apart from some cheese and two eggs. How about that for healthy? The majority of the vegetables create a kind of pizza base which hangs together reasonably well as long as you bake it for long enough. I would suggest turning it in the oven a few times to get it browned evenly. Make sure you time the cooking of the asparagus so they are ready just as the base comes out of the oven. That way, you will have a hot meal.
This is not a low Fodmap recipe.
And now a quick summary of The Taste of Auckland food festival, which I went to last weekend. My sister and I had a wonderful time sipping and nibbling on endless free offerings and bought a few small courses from the top chefs in Auckland. I had a prawn concoction from Euro Restaurant, which was packed with flavour but had very little substance and also a deconstructed cheesecake dessert. I am not sure why a cheesecake has to be deconstructed because it is pretty much perfection when whole. The crumbs skidding about the plate on their own were rather dry, though the ball of cheesecake was acceptable. Nothing to write home about, I would say. I then had one more wee desert from Kermadec. This was chocolatey and not too bad at all. But the tastings at the food stalls were delightful from the cupcakes to the various rich peppery olive oils. Yum! We drank lots of small hits of alcohol and I fell in love with the creamy limoncello. It rained and rained and then rained some more but it couldn’t dampen our enthusiasm for the event. We tottered off home, a little merrier than when we arrived, with our bags laden with spoils.
Despite all the yumminess, there really was very little that was photogenic so I only have two photos to show you. Because of the rain, we couldn’t step back away from the stalls and tents to even get an overall shot.
The tart looks so freshy and tasty! Asparagus is super cheap in Sydney Aus at the moment too!
Asparagus is cheap here right now too so it’s good to take advantage of it. Fresh, light dishes like that are good for the health and the weight.
Suzanne
What a wonderful vegetable tart and so extra special for the holiday season too! I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Roz
Roz, we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in New Zealand but I’ll be thinking of all you lucky people over there with your extra holiday celebration.
Suzanne
I love a vegetable tart, beautiful!
Thanks, Laura.
Suzanne
I’m absolutely loving asparagus right now! But the best part is that the base was made from veggies too! I’m trying to come to grips with writing about the Melbourne Taste, but its just too overwhelming to start!
I am sure the Melbourne Taste was much bigger than ours. We had done the lot in about 3 hours.
Suzanne
Mmmm, this sounds delish!
Natalya @ Ruff House Art
It was, Nattie.
Suzanne
Love the caulifower and sweet potato richness to the spring asparagus! Quite my favourite vegetable next to artichoke, with which I seasonally always compare it! Just a Q NOT meant rudely: why turn it in an even baking oven? Would break it up even more?
I have an oven which cooks unevenly so I turn the whole tray, not the actual food. That causes the minimal disruption to the cooking. But if your oven cooks evenly, then I wouldn’t worry about turning it.
Suzanne
I love that tart photo Suezzane…and Im laughing at the cheesecake quip. You are right why mess with perfection?
I love all the cooking programs on TV but they do get carried away sometimes though it makes for a great show so let them deconstruct what they want.
Suzanne
I love the look of your tart, Suzanne. It’s so vibrantly green and I love how it’s vegetarian and gluten-free. And those cupcakes are so beautiful – so perfectly iced xx
Thanks, Charlie. I wish I could ice cupcakes like that. It must be a particular nozzle or maybe it is just a skill level I don’t have.
Suzanne
What a stunning tart…love the asparagus spears all lined up! And I think I’d enjoy eating just as much as admiring it! So sorry about the rain at the festival, but your if shots of the macarons and cupcakes are any indication, it must have been an impressive event.
All lined up like little soldiers – it was the only way to go.
Those were the best things to photograph. Even the special chef dishes were served in polystyrene plates so definitely not photograph-worthy.
Suzanne
Love the look of the asparagus tart – so fresh and vibrant (for some reason it is showing up under your Beef and Lamb heading). I’m completely with you on the deconstruction issue. I think it is just to be different for the sake of it.
Thanks for letting me know. It defaults to Beef/Lamb if I forget to change it. I’ve sorted it now.
Suzanne
Perfect time of year for a gorgeous tart like this. Asparagus is wonderful when it’s really fresh.
We do have to take advantage of it while it’s in season.
Suzanne
Great dish! I love asparagus and can’t get enough recipes for it. I’ve made asparagus tarts before, but this one is different – I really like it! Thanks for the idea.
Asparagus is in season here at the moment and will get eaten often in the next few weeks.
Suzanne