Use Puff Pastry to Make an Asparagus Tart

I get a good amount of questions about pantry staples. I always suggest having grains, pasta and rice in your cupboards. This way a full-on meal, along with a few fresh ingredients, is only a few minutes away. And then, of course, I love to have things like dried mushrooms, dried fruit and nuts, a fully stocked spice cabinet and good olive oil and a variety of vinegars. When it comes to freezer staples, I always recommend making sure someone refills the ice cube tray. I'm personally the worst at this. Oh and definitely a few sheets of frozen puff pastry.

I made puff pastry once and let me tell you it's not for the faint at heart. And muscles! it takes a good amount of brute strength to fold the butter into the sheets of dough. I say skip the project of homemade puff pastry and buy the frozen stuff instead. Just be sure to buy good-quality puff pastry. You'll know it's good if there's real butter (instead of palm oil) in the ingredient list.

With frozen puff pastry in your freezer, it means a tart like this one is a mere 15 minutes away. The asparagus can easily swapped out for other vegetables like peas, broccoli or cauliflower. The mixture of the two cheeses with red pepper flakes and a bit of lemon zest is pretty common, but sometimes simple is what I crave.

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She's a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.