🥗 STARTER
Tarteletter med Høns i Asparges (Danish Chicken and Asparagus Tartlets)
Crisp puff pastry cases warmed in the oven and filled to overflowing with poached chicken and white asparagus in a creamy butter-and-flour sauce, a classic Danish starter for Christmas lunches and family parties.
Danish · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 40 min
~421 cal · 33g protein · 13g carbs · 25g fat · 1g fiber · 3g sugars · 13g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Tarteletter med høns i asparges, tartlets with hen in asparagus, is one of the great old-fashioned Danish party dishes. The crisp little puff pastry cases, bought ready-made from the baker or supermarket, are warmed in the oven and filled with a creamy stew of chicken and white asparagus, and because they are small they are a natural starter at Christmas lunches, birthdays, weddings and other family gatherings. Danes affectionately call this kind of food mormor-mad, grandmother food.
The filling was originally made with a boiling hen, simmered for hours until tender, which is where the name høns, hen, comes from; today most cooks use chicken. The meat is poached, the broth kept, and a white sauce is made from butter and flour let down with the chicken broth, the liquid from the asparagus jar and a little cream or milk. The chicken and asparagus are folded in, the tartlets are filled at the last moment so they stay crisp, and a sprig of parsley goes on top.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 500 g skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1.5 litres water (for poaching)
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 carrot, in chunks
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- 1 jar (about 200 g drained) white asparagus, from a jar, drained, liquid kept, or fresh white asparagus, peeled and cooked
- 40 g butter
- 40 g plain flour
- 100 ml single cream
- to taste white pepper
- 8 ready-made puff pastry tartlet cases (tarteletter)
- to garnish curly parsley sprigs
Instructions
- 1Put the chicken in a pan with the water, onion, carrot, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt. Bring to a simmer and poach gently for about 20 minutes, until cooked through. Lift out the chicken, strain the broth and keep 250 ml of it.
- 2Cut the chicken into small cubes, about 1 cm. Cut the asparagus into 2 cm pieces and keep 150 ml of the liquid from the jar.
- 3Heat the oven to 180°C for the tartlet cases.
- 4Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute without browning. Whisk in the chicken broth a little at a time, then the asparagus liquid, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring, until thick and smooth. Stir in the cream and season with salt and white pepper.✎ Chef’s noteThe sauce should be thick enough to hold its shape in the cases; it loosens a little when the chicken goes in.
- 5Fold in the chicken and asparagus and heat through gently. Meanwhile warm the tartlet cases in the oven for about 5 minutes, until crisp.
- 6Spoon the hot filling into the cases just before serving, so they stay crisp, top each with a sprig of parsley and serve two per person as a starter.
Danish party and Christmas lunch tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Zealand (Copenhagen). Smorrebrod has a documented ceiling: Oskar Davidsen's in Copenhagen listed 178 different open sandwiches on its menu in 1933. The rules are strict too, buttered rye underneath so nothing soaks through, one clear main topping, and the whole thing taken with a knife and fork.
🗺️
Denmark. Smorrebrod has rules and a paper trail. Oskar Davidsen's restaurant listed 178 kinds on its menu in 1933, and the conventions run deep: rye bread rather than white, butter to the edges so nothing soaks through, one composition per slice, and knife and fork rather than hands. Herring goes first, then fish, then meat, then cheese.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Denmark
Smørrebrød (Three Classics)Denmark’s open-faced rye sandwiches, built in proper order: egg & tomato, potato & chive, and beet & apple.
WienerbrødThe original "Danish": flaky laminated pastry with custard or jam, glazed and eaten with coffee.
FrikadellerPan-fried pork-and-veal meatballs, flattened and golden, the everyday staple at the heart of Danish home cooking.
Browse all Denmark recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Oven, Whisk.
Storing it: Store in an airtight container. Most keep 2 to 3 days at room temperature, and longer refrigerated.
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RisalamandeDessert
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Tarteletter med Høns i Asparges (Danish Chicken and Asparagus Tartlets)?
Crisp puff pastry cases warmed in the oven and filled to overflowing with poached chicken and white asparagus in a creamy butter-and-flour sauce, a classic Danish starter for Christmas lunches and family parties.
Where does Tarteletter med Høns i Asparges (Danish Chicken and Asparagus Tartlets) come from?
Tarteletter med Høns i Asparges (Danish Chicken and Asparagus Tartlets) is a Danish dish from Zealand (Copenhagen), Denmark.
Can Tarteletter med Høns i Asparges (Danish Chicken and Asparagus Tartlets) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Tarteletter med Høns i Asparges (Danish Chicken and Asparagus Tartlets) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Tarteletter med Høns i Asparges (Danish Chicken and Asparagus Tartlets) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Tarteletter med Høns i Asparges (Danish Chicken and Asparagus Tartlets) take to make?
About 60 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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