Asparagus-Ricotta Phyllo Tart

Filling
1 lb asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large egg
1 15oz container low-fat ricotta cheese
2/3 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Crust
olive oil cooking spray
1/3 cup fine breadcrumbs, divided
14 (13x9 inch) sheets phyllo dough, thawed
1 Tbs sesame seeds

1) Preheat oven to 400F. Cook asparagus in boiling salted water for 30 seconds. Drain, and refresh under cold running water until cooled.
2) Whisk together egg and ricotta in medium bowl. Stir in green onions, basil, Parmesan, garlic, salt, pepper and asparagus.
3) To make crust: Coat 11 or 12 inch tart pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Lay 1 sheet phyllo on work surface. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs. Repeat with 6 more phyllo sheets, placing each at a 45 degree angle to the previous one to form a rough circle. Lift phyllo stack into prepared tart pan, letting excess hang over sides. Gently press into pan. Spread ricotta filling in crust.
4) Spray and stack remaining 7 phyllo sheets in same manner as bottom crust. Spray top sheet with cooking spray, but do not sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Set stack on top of filling and press edges to seal. With scissors, trim edges, leaving 1-inch overhang. Roll edges over to form rim. Spray with cooking spray. Cut several slits in crust for steam vents. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
5) Set tart pan on baking sheet, and bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Review: I was impatient and tried to use the phyllo dough before it was thawed. Therefore, it broke until little pieces and sharply halved all the sheets. Therefore, I used an 8x8 brownie pan to make this dish. It all fit in nicely and I layered the sheets in the pan. There was no overhang, since I was using half sheets. And, at the end, I just tucked the edges down into the pan. It came out really well. I probably should have used more olive oil on the top, though. We have a mister that we got for our wedding, so it's all olive oil with no preservatives, but it's not very good at spraying evenly. I'm tempted to just using a basting brush and olive oil with future phyllo dough recipes. Anyways, this made about 4 servings. Just enough for dinner and lunch tomorrow, but it was really filling and yummy. It's definitely a keeper recipe if I can remember to be patient in the future.