Any sort of savoury tart can be made with this recipe, but if you are lucky enough to be in possession of some peppery, foraged wild asparagus and herbs, this is possibly one of the nicest ways to make a meal of them. A wonderfully versatile tart, it can be served in thin slices as part of an antipasto, as a light lunch with some salad, bread and a glass of wine, or packed in a picnic or brought along to a friend’s barbecue.
This pastry is quick and easy to pull together. It’s a very basic shortcrust dough adapted from an Artusi recipe (one for pasticci or savoury pies). You can also use a store-bought roll of plain shortcrust pastry or puff pastry if you’re short on time (start the recipe at the blind baking stage) – but honestly, this doesn’t take long to make. The pastry can be prepared (and blind baked) the night before and the tart simply all put together right before you need it.