Talia’s Treats : Asparagus & Cheese Tart / Beetroot, baby carrot, and corn salad

Woohoo, it’s been a minute but Talia has blessed us with another couple of great recipe’s just in time for summer barbies and brews :

Asparagus is in season at the mo, and the salad is nice and fresh. Talia got the baby carrots and the coriander from the strawberry farm at Mangere Bridge – they always have nice veges there on sale as well as strawberries.

Asparagus and Cheese Tart

1 sheet puff pastry
Asparagus
200g bacon, chopped and cooked
125g cream cheese (half a block)
1 egg, beaten
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Parsley chopped
salt and pepper
Tasty cheese

Mix the egg, cream cheese, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper together till well combined. Score a 1cm border around the edge of the sheet of pastry. Prick the pastry all over within the border with a fork. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the pastry, keeping with the border. Sprinkle the bacon over the cream cheese. Wash and trim the end of the asparagus spears. Place over top of bacon and cream cheese. Sprinkle with tasty cheese.

Bake in a pre-heated oven 220C for 15-20 mins or until the pastry is golden brown and cooked underneath. Slice and serve.

Beetroot, baby carrot, and corn salad

2 large beetroots
Baby carrots
Coriander
1 can whole kernel corn (or a couple of fresh corn cobs if they’re in season)
Feta cheese

(optional: Kumara – I needed to stretch the salad a bit further as we had some extras turn up so chucked in a couple of kumara as well)

Clean and trim the carrots. Peel and chop the beets (and kumara in including) into your preferred size and shape. Drizzle with oil and roast – it pays to place the beets onto a separate tray otherwise your other veges will end up dyed purple from the juice.
Once cooked, arrange on a platter with coriander and corn, sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and a bit of ground rock salt.

Serve with your favourite mayonnaise – Talia just mixed up a few tablespoons of Best Food Mayo with the juice of half a lemon for a nice citrus kick.