Market-Fresh Magazine Monday

It's been a while since I've turned to my magazine collection in celebration of Magazine Monday. But when last week's CSA delivery included tender-crisp asparagus and beautifully bulbous spring onions, I knew I was going to turn to my Fine Cooking collection for inspiration. And so, with a little help from my friends at Boccalone, this riff on Fine Cooking's Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Bacon (Guanciale) Tart was born.

For my version, I replaced five slices of bacon with 2 ounces of Cosentino's amazing guanciale. Because I was using the spring onions (sliced similar in size and shape to the asparagus) I also left out the shallot. And I employed a scant 5 ounces of herbed goat cheese that had been languishing in the back of the deli drawer in my refrigerator.

Preparation was fairly easy, with lots of opportunities for multi-tasking. I sliced the guanciale into thick bacon-like strips and rendered it while I prepared the asparagus and the spring onions. While the vegetable medley sauteed, chopped the cooked guanciale, prepared the puff pastry and the tart's goat cheese base. Next time, I'll mix a tablespoon or two into the goat cheese... it would have spread with far less mess if I'd diluted it a bit. Finally, I spent the twenty minutes that the tart was in the oven washing the few dishes I'd dirtied and getting mis en place for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie assignment.

I served my tart warm over a handful of mixed greens drizzled with balsamic vinegar and a glass of Foxglove Chardonnay. Another tasty, relatively healthy, easy to prepare Monday night meal. And even better, because other than the puff pastry my ingredients were sourced locally, this meal qualifies for the new "Farmer's Market Fare" Carnival over at Eat. Drink. Better.

From the archives...

In 2007 I found the antidote to office apathy in these Banana Crumb Muffins.

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