phyllo dough – The Answer is Always Pork

asparagus tart

Spring is here and so are the asparagus! Though we really didn’t experience much in the way of winter this year in SF, I still can’t help but be happy it’s spring. The other night we had the most heavenly asparagus at our friends’ house. Among their many talents, Russ and Kelly have an impressive green thumb. They have a garden plot near their place in Potrero Hill and we were lucky enough to sample some of their freshly harvested asparagus. Sweet Demeter, it was the best asparagus of my life, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some more.

So on Sunday before Jordan headed out for work, we went down the Civic Center Farmers Market and picked up two beautiful bunches of asparagus. While these weren’t quite the caliber of Russ and Kelly’s, I was still pretty pleased. Hurray for spring! Hurray for asparagus!

I decided to turn one of the bunches into a simple tart. The inspiration was from an old issue of Sunset magazine—a phyllo and tomato ‘pizza’ that I used to make at my mom’s house in the summers, but hadn’t made in years. I had some phyllo sitting in the freezer from another so-so experiment, and so this was a snap to throw together. It takes about 10 minutes to assemble, about 20 bake and then you’ve got a beautiful tart to show for your efforts. For a crust that is almost no work, this one is deliciously flaky and satisfying. And, bonus fun fact, phyllo dough is vegan … until you slather it in butter. Easy, fresh and delicious!

Asparagus Tart with Creme Fraiche
1 bunch asparagus (if you can snag ones that are the thickness of a pencil, that would be perfect)
8 sheets of phyllo dough (defrosted either on the counter for a few hours on in the fridge overnight)
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup creme fraiche
salt, pepper
parmesan, for shaving on top
a few lemon wedges, for serving

Preheat your oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash and pat your asparagus dry.

In a small dish, melt the butter. Spread one sheet of phyllo dough on the baking sheet. Brush the entire sheet lightly with butter. Top with another sheet of phyllo. Continue brushing with butter and layering with the rest of the sheets.

Once you’ve stacked the phyllo, spread an even layer of creme fraiche in the middle of the dough, leaving a 1 1/2″ border along the sides. Arrange the asparagus evenly in a row. Fold the phyllo dough up around the asparagus and brush the border with the remaining butter. Sprinkle the asparagus with a little bit of salt.

Bake the tart for 20 – 25 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and top with some black pepper and shaved parmesan. Add a squeeze of lemon if you’re feeling feisty.

-Emily

Ps. This op-ed about food and health by Mark Bittman from this week’s New York Times is fantastic. Butter is back, and all I can say is 1000 times YES.

baklava

Our friends Kelly and Russell had us over for dinner the other night for a Turkish feast. We were tasked with dessert and decided to make baklava. We thought it only fitting.

Baklava is very easy to make, but quite time intensive because lots of layering is involved. This was my second attempt at baklava and it took me about 2 hours to make, including baking time, but was worth the time investment. This baklava is delicious and balanced. I find that it is best the first day, but do admit it’s not exactly terrible with coffee the next morning.

Baklava
1 (16 oz) package of phyllo dough
1 pound nuts, chopped (We used 1/3 lb each pistachios, walnuts and pecans)
1 cup butter, melted
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg
2 T sugar

For the syrup
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup honey
zest of 1/2 orange
1 t vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish.

Chop nuts or chop in a food processor. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar to nut mixture, and set aside. Melt the butter.

Unroll phyllo dough and cut the dough to the size of your baking dish with a sharp knife. Roll up the extra and return it to the fridge or freezer. Cover with a damp paper towel to keep dough from ripping.

To layer the dough, put down a sheet and brush lightly with butter. Top with another sheet. Brush with melted butter and top with another sheet of pastry. Continue to do this until you’ve layered eight sheets of dough.

Spread a thin layer of the nut mixture and top with another sheet of dough. Layer on another eight sheets, with butter between each sheet. It is important to put butter between each sheet of dough so you end up with a flaky pastry. If you don’t put the butter between the layers, the baklava will be very dense, and that’s no fun.

Continue to layer eight pieces of dough and one thin layer of nuts until you’ve used up all of the nut mixture. I used a 9″ x 13″ pan and my baklava had three layers of nuts. Cut into diamond shapes with a sharp knife. Bake for 50 minutes.

While the baklava is baking, combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the honey and zest and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool for 10 more minutes before adding the vanilla.

When you remove the baklava from the oven, pour the honey sauce over the dish and let it cool. Remove once cooled and place in paper cupcake cups. To store, place in a cookie tin or leave uncovered on a plate. Enjoy!

-Emily