I wanted to take advantage of the asparagus abundance this season. This tart is super simple to make. Store-bought dough makes it easy to throw together for a quick springtime dinner, or an impressive appetizer to serve at your next vegan gathering.

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Vegan Asparagus Cheese Tart

Fresh asparagus, cultured cashew cream cheese, and store-bough puff pastry dough come together to create this fresh and easy springtime dish.

Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Author: Michael Monson
Ingredients
  • 1 batch of cultured cashew cream cheese (recipe below)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 sheets of vegan puff pastry dough
  • 1 pound of fresh asparagus, trimmed
  • olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
  2. On a sheet of parchment paper, roll out our puff pastry dough. Depending on the size of your oven, you might have to do one at a time. Score a frame around the perimeter of the dough, about an inch and a half from the edge. With a fork, poke holes in the center portion of the dough. Bake at 400 for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the dough starts to barely brown.
  3. Combine the cashew cream cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and parsley.
  4. Remove the dough from the oven, and let cool for a couple of minutes. Spreak half of the cream cheese mixture on each dough square, and then arrange your asparagus in an aesthetically pleasing pattern.  Drizzle with olive oil, and add a bit of salt and pepper to the top.
  5. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown, and the asparagus has started to soften. Cut into equal portions. Serve warm or room temperature.

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Cultured Cashew Cream Cheese

This is a super simple cashew cream cheese recipe that can be the base of so many amazing vegan dishes.

Course: Sauce
Cuisine: American
Author: Michael Monson
Ingredients
  • 2 cups raw cashews
  • 2 vegan probiotic capsules
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • About ¼ cup of water or as needed
Instructions
  1. Soak the cashews for about 12 hours in filtered water. Or, add the cashews to a pot with about 3 cups of filtered water, and bring to a boil. Turn off the burner, and allow to soak for at least 10 minutes.
  2. Rinse the cashews in cold water and then add to a food processor with the salt and nutritional yeast. Blend until the cashews are a creamy consistency, adding water as needed, but not too much. You are looking for a cream cheese texture. Open the probiotic capsules and add them to the processor, making sure the cashew mixture isn’t too warm from processing. Blend until evenly distributed.
  3. Pour the cashew mixture into a glass bowl, and cover with cheese cloth or a thin cloth. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours.