Individual Asparagus-Manchego Tart

This month's theme for You Want Pies with That was Taste of Summer Pie. We had to create a pie that evoked the tastes and flavors of summer. I picked fresh asparagus as my summer veggie, and paired it with a puff pastry crust and nutty Spanish Manchego cheese. Marcia's Kitchen made a similar tart with Gruyere cheese, but the Manchego was on sale at the grocery and I thought the taste would be excellent with the asparagus.

I made an individual tart for a quick summer dinner, but you could easily multiply this recipe to make multiple servings. I'd suggest serving this with more veggies (I roasted some more asparagus, but a light salad would be great too).

Individual Asparagus-Manchego Tart (adapted from Marcia's Kitchen)

1/3 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
4-5 stalks asparagus, rinsed and trimmed
Manchego cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Roll out the puff pastry until it is as long as the asparagus. Score the edges of the pastry about 1/4 to 1/2 inch from all the edges. Prick the inside of the rectangle and leave the edges un-pricked.
3. Bake the tart for about 10 minutes until lightly browned. Place the asparagus in a neat row on the puff pastry, and then generously grate Manchego cheese over the top.
4. Bake the tart for another 10-15 minutes until it is nicely browned and the asparagus is tender. Remove from the oven and grate more cheese over the top. Serve with freshly ground black pepper.