Celebrate the asparagus season with this mind-blowingly delicious vegan asparagus tart, which will make a beautiful centerpiece at your dinner table. Creamy cashew & tofu filling, crunchy asparagus and flaky pastry make it one delicious number to share with your friends and family.
The British asparagus season doesn’t last very long (from the end of April through to June), so I’m grabbing this last opportunity to enjoy fresh seasonal asparagus in its full glory in this dangerously moreish vegan asparagus tart.
When I made it for lunch to share with my boyfriend, we finished it in one sitting… Can you believe it?! Yep, it’s this good my friends, I’m telling you!
WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED TO MAKE ASPARAGUS TART?
To make the filling for this asparagus tart, which by the way can be prepared 3-4 days in advance, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Unsalted raw cashews – you’ll need to soak them in cold water overnight or in boiling hot water for at least 2 hours
- Extra firm smoked tofu (I used this one). You can use plain tofu but the overall flavour will be less smokey and less ‘cheesy’.
- Lemon juice
- Nutritional yeast flakes
- Vegan-friendly green pesto (you can skip this step but I’d highly recommend adding it for the fullness of flavour)
- Fresh basil
- Salt & pepper
- Water as needed
To assemble the asparagus tart you’ll need:
- Asparagus spears
- Ready-rolled puff pastry (I used a shop-bought vegan-friendly version)
- A spoonful of finely chopped mixed seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds (you can replace with any seeds of your own choice)
- Lemon zest
- A little drizzle of olive oil
- Almond milk or tamari sauce (or milk of choice) for the ‘egg wash’.
HOW TO MAKE ASPARAGUS TART
The process of making this tart is really simple:
- Firstly, make the filling by combining all filling ingredients in a food processor and blitzing until creamy. Whilst the motor is still running, keep adding water a little at a time until you reach creamy, spreadable consistency. If you’re using plain tofu instead of smokey, the overall flavour will be less ‘cheesy’, so you might want to add more nutritional yeast flakes.
- Secondly, unravel the puff pastry sheet. Using a knife, score a 2-inch border around the edges, so they puff up when the pastry is in the oven. Brush the pastry edges with a little almond milk (or tamari sauce) to help them brown off. Sprinkle finely chopped seeds along the edges of the tart and pop it in the oven to blind bake for 10 minutes.
- Whilst the pastry is in the oven, bring a saucepan of water to a boil, add trimmed asparagus spears in the boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to a big bowl of ice cold water. Let the asparagus cool down completely. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and pat dry.
- Take the pastry out of the oven, spread the cashew & tofu filling evenly all the way to the edges with the back of a spoon.
- Arrange the asparagus spears on top of the filling, alternating the spear ends. Drizzle the asparagus with a little olive oil, season generously with salt & pepper and sprinkle with lemon zest. Bake in the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Lastly, garnish the tart with peppery rocket salad, spring onions and a drizzle of olive oil just before serving.
If you need some more asparagus inspiration, check out my other recipes below:
- Asparagus tart with pea & mint pesto & feta
- Super easy spring green salad
- Quinoa pizza with grilled asparagus & tomatoes
As always, if you recreate this vegan asparagus tart at home, I’d be delighted to read your comments and hear your feedback. Be sure to drop a comment here on the blog, tag me in your photos on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest so I don’t miss them. It gives me so much joy seeing your takes on my recipes!
See you next week.
Healthfully yours,
Tania x
VEGAN ASPARAGUS TART
Celebrate the asparagus season with this mind-blowingly delicious vegan asparagus tart, which will make a beautiful centerpiece at your dinner table. Creamy cashew & tofu filling, crunchy asparagus and flaky pastry make it one delicious number to share with your friends and family.
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
For the filling:
- ½ cup unsalted raw cashews soaked overnight in cold water or in boiling hot water for at least 2 hours
- 225 g extra firm smoked tofu
- Juice of 1 medium lemon
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes or to taste
- 1 tbsp vegan-friendly green pesto you can skip this step but I’d highly recommend adding it for the fullness of flavour
- 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Water as needed
For the tart:
- 300-350 g fresh asparagus spears, ends trimmed (around 40 spears)
- 320 g ready-rolled puff pastry sheet (I used a vegan-friendly version)
- 1 tbsp mixed seeds finely chopped
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp almond milk or tamari sauce for the ‘egg wash’
- Rocket salad & spring onions for garnish
Instructions
- To make the filling, combine all filling ingredients in a food processor and blitz until creamy. Whilst the motor is still running, keep adding water a little at a time until you reach creamy, spreadable consistency. If you’re using plain tofu instead of smokey, the overall flavour will be less ‘cheesy’, so you might want to add more nutritional yeast flakes.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C Fan/ 400F/ Gas mark 6 and line an oven tray with parchment paper.
- Unravel the puff pastry sheet. Using a knife, score a 2-inch border around the edges, so they puff up when the pastry is in the oven, and pierce the middle of the pastry sheet with a fork. Brush the pastry edges with a little almond milk (or tamari sauce) to help them brown off. Sprinkle finely chopped seeds along the edges of the tart and pop it in the oven to blind bake for 10 minutes until just golden.
- Whilst the pastry is in the oven, bring a saucepan of water to a boil, add trimmed asparagus spears in the boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to a big bowl of ice cold water. Let the asparagus cool down completely. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and pat dry.
- Take the pastry out of the oven, spread the cashew & tofu filling evenly all the way to the edges with the back of a spoon.
- Arrange the asparagus spears on top of the filling, alternating the spear ends. Drizzle the asparagus with a little olive oil, season generously with salt & pepper and sprinkle with lemon zest. Bake in the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Garnish the tart with peppery rocket salad, spring onions and a drizzle of olive oil just before serving.
Notes
*You can make the filling for this tart 3-4 days in advance (keep refrigerated). If you have any leftovers, it’s a great spread for your toast!
Tried this recipe? Mention @Fit.Foodie.Nutter or tag #fitfoodienutter!
My kiddos and I made this together! We have been spending a lot more time in the kitchen lately and its so fun. They really enjoyed making this recipe but they enjoyed eating it even more! Thanks for this delish creation, we are adding it to our “make again” list!! I was so excited they liked this. Yay for more veggies!
I’m so glad you got your children involved too Cindy and so happy they enjoyed this tart! I’ve enjoyed a lot more time in the kitchen with my little girl too, so it’s not all that bad in a quarantine after all:) x
What a great recipe. I love asparagus. And this one has all that I love. The pesto and puff pastry.
Thank you so much Roxana. I’m glad you liked it x
Not only is this recipe so delicious, it’s stunning too!! It was such a show stopper at a family brunch I hosted.
Thank you Nicole! I’m so glad you enjoyed it x
I love asparagus and I was having trouble finding a tart recipe that didn’t involve cheese! Thanks for this tasty vegan idea!
I’m glad you’ve finally found it Liz! Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did x
I love how this tart looks – something I would love to see on my kitchen table, too. Healthy and delicious, too!
Thank you so much Elaine, you’re too kind!