Asparagus & cheddar tarts

Recently I was lucky enough to be given a wonderful cheese to play with. To me it was a 'new' cheese, but it is actually the world's oldest.

In 1833 Daniel Barber moved to Maryland Farm, Ditcheat and began what has become the longest surviving cheddar making business in the world. Six generations of the Barber family have continued Daniel's traditions and continue to farm the land and make cheese at the same site today, producing Barber's 1833 Vintage Reserve Cheddar using the only traditional starter culture collection left in the UK.

There are many recipes on their website but this is the one I chose to make. It was so very easy, but enormously delicious due entirely to the cheese which, now that it is available in Australia, will be on my shopping list now - permanently!

Serves 4

500g/1lb 2oz asparagus

1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, cut into 4

5 tbsp mascarpone or cream cheese

85g/3oz Barber's 1833 Vintage Reserve Cheddar, grated

grated zest 1?2 lemon

a little oil, for drizzling

1. Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6.

2. Trim the asparagus so that each stalk measures

about 15cm. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the asparagus and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain and pat dry with kitchen paper.

3. Place the pastry rectangles on one or two baking sheets. Mix together the mascarpone, grated cheese and lemon zest and spread over the pastry sheets, leaving a 2cm border.

4. Lay a quarter of the asparagus on each pastry base and drizzle with a little oil. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until crisp and golden. Serve with salad leaves.

(and if you're wondering, it tasted even better than it looks)

 

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