Souffléd crab & asparagus tart

Souffléd crab & asparagus tart

This melt-in-the-mouth tart can be served as a main course, or as a brilliant starter for eight served with a green salad

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 55 mins

Method

  1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out pastry and line a 25cm tart tin. Line the case with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 mins, then remove paper and beans and cook for 5 mins more. Trim off excess pastry. Reduce oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
  2. Melt the butter in a non-stick pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 min. Gradually add the milk, stirring all the time until the sauce is smooth and glossy. Add nutmeg, chilli and salt and leave to cool slightly.
  3. Flake up the crabmeat and add to the sauce. Blanch the asparagus for 3 mins, drain well and cool under cold running water. Pat dry with kitchen paper and scatter over the pastry case.
  4. Stir the egg yolks into the sauce. Whisk the whites until stiff, then fold into the sauce in 3 batches. Spoon into the tart case and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for 30-35 mins until puffed and golden.
Try

Tartare potato salad

Chop 750g salad potatoes into chunks, cook until tender, then drain. Meanwhile, mix together 1 finely chopped shallot, 1 tbsp chopped capers, 6 chopped small gherkins and 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Add 3 rounded tbsp mayonnaise, the juice ½ lemon and a little salt and pepper. Mix well and toss potatoes in the dressing.

Beetroot, toasted almond & watercress salad

Peel and grate 2 raw beetroot. Whisk together the zest and juice ½ orange, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 4 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange 100g watercress over a platter and scatter with the beetroot and 2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds. Drizzle over dressing.

Per serving

406 kcalories, protein 17g, carbohydrate 30g, fat 25 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 2g, sugar 3g, salt 1.18 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2010.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Rachael

    05 May 2010

    Rachael rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I only had puff pastry and tinned flaked crab, used them instead and it was still delicious.

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  • Binder photo Elizabeth

    12 July 2010

    Elizabeth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Highly recommend, lovely flavours with a simple recipe and delivers a really delicious tart.

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  • Binder photo Ani

    30 November 2010

    Ani rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I used tinned crab, and it was absolutely fine - delicious, and with a lovely texture.

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  • Binder photo Vanillatimtam

    25 January 2011

    Vanillatimtam rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Easier than I thought - I loved it and the reviews were good.

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  • Binder photo Vanillatimtam

    25 January 2011

    Vanillatimtam commented on this recipe

    Easier than I thought - I loved it and the reviews were good.

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  • Binder photo Nancy71

    08 May 2011

    Nancy71 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    delicious and light, and very easy to make. Loved it, will be making it again.

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  • Binder photo Elaine M

    28 February 2012

    Elaine M rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    A lovely fresh Summer recipe. I do recommend splashing out on proper crabmeat though. I used tinned crab the first couple of times I made this and, although perfectly edible, it was a bit bland.

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  • Binder photo mick

    26 March 2012

    mick commented on this recipe

    GRRRRR! I hate recipes from "professionals" that don't make sense. The crab and asparagus sounds great and I will be trying it soon, when the British asparagus season starts. BUT, the beetroot, toasted almond and watercress salad? We have tbsp of some ingredients but "2 raw beetroots"! What does this mean? Have you seen the variations in size of raw beets? Some are 6-8 times bigger than others. OK, I can taste and check for myself but a recipe should be generally accurate. This happens all too often.

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  • Binder photo Kathryn

    01 September 2012

    Kathryn rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    A lovely light flan. I used flaked smoked haddock instead of crab and it was delicious. This is going to be a regular basic recipe as I can feel several variations of fish, vegetable and seasoning coming on.

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 55 mins

Ingredients

  • 300g ready-made shortcrust pastry
  • 25g butter
  • 25g plain flour
  • 300ml milk
  • freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 good pinches chilli powder
  • 200g white crabmeat , fresh or frozen and defrosted
  • 140g asparagus tips
  • 3 eggs , separated
  • 3 tbsp finely grated Parmesan
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Per serving

406 kcalories, protein 17g, carbohydrate 30g, fat 25 g, saturated fat 10g, fibre 2g, sugar 3g, salt 1.18 g

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