asparagus, egg & prosciutto breakfast tarts

Makes 4

Happy Sunday morning! I’m sitting here half way through my second cup of tea tossing up between yoga and a walk and thought I should quickly get this fabulous brunch recipe ‘up’. It is one that I put together for Dish and Fisher & Paykel last week – and really goes to show you don’t need any fancy equipment to make quite a flash looking dish (I made it while at my friend’s batch on Waiheke). It is bloody brilliant for a weekend  brunch (or dinner for that matter) with fresh new season’s asparagus and baked egg tucked in flaky puff pastry, topped with salty, crispy prosciutto, a little crumbled feta and grated lemon zest. You can easily bung other stuff in too – if you don’t like asparagus, some quickly pan-fried field mushrooms or slow-roasted tomatoes are also fabulous and work well with the feta and egg.

Aaaand in other news, not much to report really…I have been flat out with work since getting back from Welly and Waiheke and have consequently been feeling totally knackered. I am so excited that I have NO WORK today, it’s a miracle. I am going to actually get some boring crap done like dusting (hurrah) and gardening (I actually love that) and general tidying. I am already anticipating having a satisfied Sunday night glow tonight, which may be a tiny bit premature. Other than that I am going to Coco’s Cantina’s birthday dinner tomorrow which should be fabulous (if only my regrowth wasn’t so bad I would be even more excited), and hosting a book selling and signing at the Caci clinic in Newmarket on Wednesday between 5:30pm and 7pm which should be lots of fun (please feel free to come along). Poor old Hoob is suffering from some kind of cold/lurgy in Welly but still managing to drag himself to mate’s gigs and work  as well as uni (take care of yourself my lovely!!!) while Pog is on the case investigating all things related to sustainable living and gardening (including bee keeping and chicken rearing – how bloody fabulous) and busy making kombucha (I’m so not-cool, it always tastes like fizzy pickle juice to me). As always I miss my babies, but thank God for Facebook messenger and texting as an easy way to stay in touch. Anyhoo, too many words, I need to haul arse and get going for my walk…make the tarts!

 

250 grams ready rolled puff pastry (I used Paneton)
1 egg whisked with 2 teaspoons milk or cream
150 grams chevre or soft goat cheese
16 spears asparagus, trimmed, halved lengthways and through the centre
4 eggs, preferably free range organic
80 grams prosciutto
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp finely chopped chives
2 teaspoons lemon oil (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F) and line an oven tray with baking paper. Cut the puff pastry into 4 equal pieces and place on the oven tray. Gently mark a 1cm border around the edge of each piece of pastry to cut just half way through. Brush the edges with a little of the egg wash and use the tines of a fork to gently prick the inside base of each pastry square (Make at least 8-9 prick marks). Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and poke down all of middle pastry bits that have over-puffed. Crumble half of the cheese evenly on each piece of pastry. Top with asparagus, leaving a little gap in the middle then crack an egg into the gaps. Reduce oven temperature by 10˚ and bake a further 10-15 minutes until the egg is cooked through. While the tarts are cooking dry fry the prosciutto in a hot frying pan for a minute each side until crispy. Season the tarts with salt and freshly ground black pepper, sprinkle with lemon zest and serve immediately garnished with remaining crumbled cheese, chopped chives and shards of prosciutto. Drizzle with a little lemon oil if desired.