Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Ricotta and Goat Cheese Asparagus Tart

Side Dishes

Of all the specialty baking pans stuffed into my overflowing kitchen cupboards, my tart pan emerges the most often. I often feel sorry for some of my underutilized dishes (ahem, not that I’ve actually never used my year old mini cheesecake or bundt pans or anything like that….), but I really like how a humble recipe can be elevated to something special enough to serve to company simply by using a tart pan. This creation is certainly no exception. I’ve been thinking about making a light ricotta and goat cheese asparagus tart all winter and immediately scooped a huge bunch of asparagus into my shopping cart when it became in season so I could put this plan into action.

The filling of the tart is a lovely mixture of ricotta, goat cheese, lemon zest, and asparagus, but the chickpea crust, an oldie but goodie that I originally created a couple years ago now, is what makes it special. By pulsing chickpeas, whole wheat flour, olive oil, and a bit of lemon zest in the food processor, I made a flavorful soft chickpea dough that bakes up beautifully. It compliments the filling nicely and is pretty healthy too. I can’t wait to serve this at a dinner party!

Ricotta and Goat Cheese Asparagus Tart
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Tart Crust:
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt

Tart Filling:
15 ounces ricotta cheese
8 ounces goat cheese
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces thinly sliced asparagus

Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Pulse chickpeas, flour, olive oil, lemon zest, and salt in a food processor until soft dough forms. Spread dough evenly over the greased tart pan. Bake the crust for 20 minutes at 350˚F or until light golden brown.

Meanwhile, mix ricotta cheese, goat cheese, egg, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in asparagus and spread mixture evenly into partially baked crust. Bake an additional 45 minutes at 350˚F or until filling is set. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan, and cut into wedges. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 317 calories, 5.5g fat, 4.6g fiber, 17.7g protein per serving
Cost: $1.24 per serving

Pasta Salad with Avocado Dressing

I’ve slowly been working on reorganizing my recipe index so there are more sub-categories and it’s easier to navigate, and I realized the side dish section is lacking. Poor neglected side dishes. Well, here’s another one to add to the list. Nothing quite says summer...

Mediterranean Cornbread

It snowed all weekend here in Boston, so I decided it was time to bake up some warm and comforting homemade bread! I was originally planning on tackling a recipe from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, but was out of yeast and not about to set out in the...

Mushroom Tart with a Mashed Potato Crust

Reeni, who writes one of my favorite blogs, Cinnamon, Spice, & Everything Nice, was recently musing about how side dishes are worthy of more attention, and I completely agree!  Side dishes can be an afterthought and our regular rotation includes couscous,...

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Potato Stacks

I don’t eat beef very often. In fact, you may have noticed that there are no recipes featuring beef on my blog because it's a protein I very rarely cook at home. But, every once in awhile I get a craving for a juicy medium rare dry-aged New York strip steak or...

Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini, and Red Pepper Tart with Feta

Have I professed my love of feta yet? You can probably tell from my recipes that I’m completely obsessed with goat cheese, but feta is a close second. My hubby always wonders what I’m going to do with the one and a half pound tubs of crumbled feta we get from Costco,...

Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes with Fennel and Spinach

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away! If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably already planned your menu, but I wanted to share this tasty mashed potato recipe just in case you’re still looking for a way to mix things up a bit! It was inspired by...

Maple Fig Couscous with Toasted Walnuts and Bacon

Our friend Mick recently brought us a cute little jar of pure maple syrup from his family’s shop up in Vermont. I used some on pancakes and a little to make Ashley’s excellent Maple Almond Butter Cookies, but really wanted to do something savory with it as well. This...

Curried Chickpea Sweet Potato Squares

Thanks so much for all your kind words about my first 5K! It was beautiful here in Boston this weekend so Apolinaras and I went on a long bike ride and it was so warm that I was able to just wear just a tank top and capris – yay! Apolinaras has gotten really into...