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Souffléd crab and asparagus tart
Serves 4 as a main or 6 as a starter Starters and mains
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 250g plain flour
- 165g butter, chilled and cut into pieces
- 2 egg yolks
For the filling
- 100g asparagus tips
- 1tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 125g British soft goat’s cheese
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1⁄4tsp mild chilli powder
- 1⁄4tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1⁄4tsp sea salt flakes
- 75g hard mature goat’s cheese, finely grated
- 3tbsp double cream
- 1 medium-to-large dressed crab, approx. 180g, mixed white and brown meat
- pinch cream of tartar
You will need
- 22cm x 3.5cm deep-base fluted tart tin
Method
For preparing the crab meat, please refer to our How to Cook a Crab guide.
To make the pastry, put the flour, butter and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a processor and whizz to a fine crumb. Whizz in the egg yolks and 3tbsp of cold water. It will clump together. Tip the mixture onto a floured surface, bring into a smooth ball and flatten a little.
Wrap in cling film and leave in a cool place for 20 minutes. (In hot weather, keep chilled.) On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a neat circle to a thickness of around 3mm and line the tin. Roll off excess pastry with the rolling pin and tuck the pastry firmly into the flutes. Chill until needed.
Meanwhile, grill the asparagus tips. Toss them in the oil on a foil-lined tray and grill for 3-4 minutes. Allow to cool before use.
Preheat the oven to 200C/ 400F/Gas 6. Put a tray in the oven to heat ready for the pastry.
Line the pastry case with scrunched-up baking paper and fill with baking beans. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove the beans, then return the pastry case to the oven for a further 4 minutes.
Using a fork, squash the soft goat’s cheese and gradually add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing until smooth. Mix in the chilli powder, pepper and salt followed by half the grated hard goat’s cheese, the cream and brown crab meat. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl with the cream of tartar until the beaters leave a pattern in the stiff whites. Fold the white crab meat gently into the yolk mixture, then fold in the whisked egg whites. Reduce the heat to 180C/350F/Gas 5. Gently spoon half the mixture into the tart case and scatter the asparagus evenly over the top. Add the remaining mixture and sprinkle the rest of the grated goat’s cheese evenly over the top.
Bake for 12 minutes or until puffed and golden, still a little wobbly in the centre but with the surface firm. Cover with foil and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove the foil, switch off the heat and leave in the oven for around 10 minutes.
Serve with a leafy salad of your choice dressed with vinaigrette.
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