Let’s Talk Food: Easter is this Sunday

This Sunday is Easter Sunday and is a time to celebrate with traditional Easter food — baked ham and roasted leg of lamb with all the wonderful side dishes.

Asparagus is in season and it’s a perfect time to make this attractive asparagus tart.

Asparagus Tart

Serves: 8

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 cups Gruyere cheese, freshly grated

1 1/2 pounds asparagus, washed, peeled

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place two puff pastry sheets on the baking sheet, overlapping them just an inch in order to connect them. Using a sharp knife, lightly score the dough 1 inch from the edges all around to mark a rectangle. Then, using a fork, pierce the dough all around in the center, not the edges. Bake the pastry dough until golden, for about 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven; let sit for a minute. Spread honey on sheets and sprinkle with cheese.

Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit across the tart. Peel the outer skin with a peeler, being gentle so not to break them. Arrange in a single layer over the cheese, alternating ends and tips. Brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

Bake until the spears are tender, 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Slice in half lengthwise, then crosswise in 2-inch widths.

•••

Cooking eggs for your Easter egg hunt is fine, but be sure to boil them properly so you don’t get a green coating around the yolk.

Place eggs in a large pot, cover with 1 inch of water and bring to boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Pour off water from saucepan then gently shake pan back and forth to lightly crack shells. Transfer eggs to ice water, let cool for five minutes and then peel.

•••

Here’s a dessert that is a great way to end a good Easter meal. The best thing about it is you can make it the day before, giving you more time on Easter Sunday for other dishes.

French Silk Chocolate Pie

From Cook’s Illustrated

Serves: 8

Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (leave your Crisco in the refrigerator) chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

4-6 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 tablespoons vanilla extract

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and softened

Crust: Process flour, sugar and salt together in food processor until combined, about 10 seconds. Scatter shortening and butter and process until mixture resembles cornmeal, 10 seconds. Add 4 tablespoons ice water and process until the mixture forms into a ball. Remove from processor, wrap in plastic wrap and flatten into a 4-inch disk. Refrigerate one hour, until dough is cold.

Let dough soften slightly, about 10 minutes. Roll into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin, then unroll over 9-inch pie plate. Place dough into plate by gently lifting edges. Trim dough to overhang plate by 1/2-inch. Fold overhanging dough underneath itself to be flush with rim of plate, and crimp edge. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes and up to one day.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line chilled crust with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until crust looks dry and is light in color, 25 minutes. Remove weights and foil and continue to bake crust until deep golden brown, 10-12 minutes longer. Transfer crust to wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about one hour.

Filling: Using electric hand-held mixer, whip cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about one minute. Increase speed to high and whip until still peaks form, two minutes. Cover and refrigerate.

Combine eggs, sugar and water in a large heatproof bowl set over medium saucepan filled with 1/2-inch barely simmering water (don’t let bowl touch water). Using electric hand-mixer, beat mixture on medium speed until thickened and registers 160 degrees, 10 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat mixture until fluffy and cooled to room temperature, eight minutes.

Beat in chocolate and vanilla until incorporated. Beat in butter, a few pieces at a time, until well combined. Using spatula, fold in whipped cream until no streaks remain. Scrape filling into pie crust and refrigerate until set, at least three hours or up to 24 hours. Serve.

Small bites

• No, French silk pie was not a French creation. It was created by Betty Cooper in 1951 for the third annual Pillsbury Bake-off.

• Thank you for patronizing Hawaii Community College’s Culinary program. This week, the college is on spring break and the students are on their annual Oahu excursion to visit various food establishments.

Email me at audreywilson 808@gmail.com.