Eric likes making everything from scratch when he cooks. So this means when he’s baking tarts or quiches, he insists on making the pastry from scratch, too. What goes into your homemade tart is completely up to you. Over the weekend Eric bought some baby asparagus and then used goats cheese we had left over in our fridge. You can get creative with veggo-friendly versions like spinach and feta, or appeal to pescetarians by adding smoked trout to these mini tarts.

This recipe makes 6 mini tarts.

For the pastry

• 250g sifted plain flour
• 125g cold, cubed, unsalted butter
• 1 egg

Cut butter into flour using food processor or stand mixer until flour resembles fine breadcrumbs. Whisk egg with one tablespoon of water. Keep the motor of the food processor or stand mixer running as you add egg and water mixture to the flour and butter until dough comes to a ball. Don’t overmix or your pastry will be tough and not crumbly. Form dough into a disk, enfold with cling wrap and throw in the fridge for as long as you can (ie. a few hours or even overnight).

Roll out dough to 2mm, shape into tart rings, then chill in fridge for at least half an hour. Dock with fork, fill with rice or baking beads, blind bake in pre-heated 180° oven for 10 minutes. Take out rice/baking beads, and bake again for 3-5 minutes until blonde.

For the filling

• 1 egg for every 100g of sour cream
• salt and pepper
• grated parmesan to taste
• 1 bunch of baby asparagus
• 50g goats cheese

Mix egg, sour cream and parmesan with salt and pepper. Dollop goats cheese into pastry along with chopped asparagus stems. Then place asparagus spears decoratively. Pour egg mixture on top. Grate parmesan onto the tarts using a microplane. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Done!