Who invented asparagus tart?

A determined attempt to solve one of the pressing issues of our time. Plus my own recipe — whether we need it or not!

Happy Friday, inquisitive cook!

You’re going to think I’m silly, but somehow I thought Melissa Clark — the New York Times cooking columnist and award-winning cookbook author — invented asparagus tart.

Let me reframe that. I didn’t think she created the first asparagus tart in history; I thought — or kind of assumed — she was the originator of the type of asparagus tart in which whole asparagus spears are snuggled into something custardy or cheesy in a rectangular shell fashioned from puff pastry.

Somehow I’d missed an entire galaxy of asparagus tarts that have been sashaying around the digital universe for a decade and a half. Yes, I know; I should be embarrassed. Maybe sent to savory tart reform school!