Crisp little puff-pastry shells filled with a creamy white sauce of tender chicken and asparagus. Light, elegant and over a century old, these 'grandma food' tartlets are a fixture at Danish buffets, Christmas and Easter tables.
Rooted in the French tartelette ('little tart'), the pastry shells reached Denmark in the late 1800s and caught on in the early 1900s as a ready-made lunch dish in canteens and institutions; the chicken-and-asparagus filling ('høns i asparges') became the standard version around the 1950s. An old and very traditional Danish dish, affectionately called 'mormor-mad' (grandma food) and served as a starter at festive buffets — Christmas lunches, birthdays and weddings — one of the few warm dishes among the cold lunch-table specialties.
The shell shatters into buttery flakes, giving way to a warm, velvety sauce rich with chicken. Sweet, grassy asparagus brightens each spoonful, and a whisper of nutmeg makes the whole thing taste comforting and old-fashioned.
A butter-and-flour roux thickens the chicken stock into a stable, velvety sauce by gelatinizing starch, while the crisp, laminated pastry shell provides a textural contrast that stays crunchy until the moment it is filled.
Variations
Filled with shrimp instead of chicken, made with white asparagus in season, or served in larger shells as a light main course.
On the Palate
Where Tarteletter sits in the Danish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 112 min
Poach chicken breast gently in seasoned stock until just cooked, then lift out and reserve the stock.
- 23 min
Cut the cooked chicken into small bite-sized pieces.
- 33 min
Melt butter in a saucepan, whisk in flour and cook to a pale roux.
Watch outCook the flour and butter just to a pale blond, no browning — a raw roux tastes floury, but color here would muddy the white sauce.
- 44 min
Gradually whisk in the warm chicken stock and a little milk to form a smooth, creamy white sauce.
Watch outPour the warm stock in a little at a time, whisking each splash smooth before the next — dump it all at once and you get lumps.
- 55 min
Simmer the sauce until thickened, seasoning with salt, pepper and a little grated nutmeg.
- 64 min
Stir in the chicken pieces and sliced asparagus and warm gently through.
- 76 min
Meanwhile, crisp the store-bought or homemade tartlet shells in a warm oven.
Watch outCrisp the shells in the oven separately and fill them only at the last second — sitting in the sauce, they go soggy fast.
- 82 min
Spoon the hot creamy filling into the shells and serve immediately, garnished with chopped parsley.
