Individual Pineapple Tart Tatin - Recipe

Pineapple Tart Tatin made with fresh pineapple

Today we have had glorious weather and it's looking like we are going to get some more late summer sunshine. Hubby happily cooked a barbecue and I made these lovely fresh pineapple tart tatin for dessert. They are delicious served with ice cream for that lovely hot/cold dessert which always works so well.

Sometimes caramel can be a pain to make and for reasons unknown won't play and I managed to get toffee instead which is no bad thing because my husband loved it.  I find the best way to make caramel is to use a small saucepan, which I forgot to do, and used a frying pan which seemed to give problems.

The pineapple rings sitting on top of the set caramel

The 'what's that' in the top right of the photograph is my clever apple corer, which is a great kitchen gadget and I've had this for many years, it's very useful for taking the cores out of pineapples too.

It's best to make a few slits in the pastry lids

My caramel and pineapple tried to burst out of the tins whilst cooking and next time I'm going to make some slits in the pastry.

I hope you have a go at making this delicious dessert.......

Serves:  4 people:

You will need:  4 x deep individual tart tins

4 x 2cm slices of ripe pineapple
50g caster sugar
cube of butter
4tsp rum
375g puff pastry

1.   Roll out the pastry - cut out four circles slightly larger than the tops of the tart tins.
2.   Remove the core from the centre of the pineapple slices, this is easily done with an apple corer.
3.   Take a small saucepan and add the sugar to the pan.  Set over a medium heat until it turns golden brown, add the butter, let it melt and bubble.
4.   Pour into the four tins and place in the fridge until set.
5.   Take a pineapple ring and place on the top of the caramel.
6.   Spoon a teaspoon of rum into the centre of each pineapple ring.
7.   Take a pastry lid and place over the pineapple and with the help of the handle of a teaspoon, tuck the pastry edges in to encase the pineapple.  Make a few slits in the pastry lids.  Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
8.   Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200oC.
9.   Place the tarts onto a baking tray and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden.
10. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.  Run a knife round the tins and place a plate over the tin and turn upside down.  Beware the caramel can still be hot and it is safest to use a tea towel to help you remove the tins.
11. Serve with ice cream.

Blind Veterans UK Fundraising Event - Tarts for Troops 29 June to 5 July 2013

Blind Veterans UK are asking if we would like to have fun in the kitchen between 29 June and 5 July.   Celebrities are joining in and are supporting the campaign by donating sweet and savoury tart recipes.

Find your own unique way to support Tart for the Troops whether this is at work, with friends or having a fun tarts and tea party! How about baking some tarts and selling them to help raise money for their charity. Tarts for Troops is a fun and easy way to support Blind Veterans UK. Just visit www.tartsfortroops.org.uk to register and for plenty of recipes and tips to make your event a huge success!

This year I have made Individual Pear Tarts - they are easy to make from just a few store cupboard and fridge ingredients.

Individual Pear Tarts best served warm with a dollop of  ice cream.

Makes 4 tarts:

Quarter of a block of shop bought puff pastry.
Apricot jam.
Large tin of pears - drained.
A few pieces of chopped ginger from a jar.

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
2. Grease a baking tray. Drain the pears well and put to one side.
3. Roll the pastry into a narrow rectangle. Cut out four pear shapes leaving a narrow border all round the edges. Cut the pastry into four pear shapes a little larger than the pears. Place onto the greased tray.
4. Place a teaspoon of apricot jam in the centre of each pastry shape.  Place a pear on the pastry.
5. Cook for 12 minutes until risen and golden.
6. Chop the stem ginger into small pieces. Brush each pear and the pastry with more apricot jam. Top each pear with chopped ginger.

Bakewell Tart: Recipe

Traditional shortcrust pastry topped with raspberry jam. An almond sponge layer topped with crunchy icing and a scattering of oven toasted flaked almonds - bliss. There are many variations of this delicious tart and this recipe gives a nod to the Bakewell Tart but I'm sure it is far removed from the secret recipe used by The Bakewell Tart Shop in Bakewell, Derbyshire.

You will need:

20/23cm loose bottom flan tin

For the pastry: 250g plain flour, 50g butter, 50g lard, 3 tablespoons chilled water

For the filling: 125g softened butter, 125g caster sugar, 3 eggs, 125g ground almonds, 3 tablespoons unsweetened raspberry jam

To decorate: 50g sifted icing sugar, 1 tablespoon water, 25g flaked almonds

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, rub in the fat until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the water to make a dough, if it doesn’t come together add more water. Knead to make a smooth dough and wrap in clingfilm. Chill for 30 minutes.
2. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface, line the tin and dock the pastry. Take a piece of baking paper, scrunch up, place into the pastry case, and fill to the top with baking beans. Bake blind for 15 minutes; remove the baking paper and baking beans.
3. Take a bowl and beat together the softened butter, caster sugar, the beaten eggs and ground almonds until smooth.
4. Spread the jam over the base of the cooked pastry case. Pour the cake batter over the jam to cover. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
5. Add the sifted icing sugar to a bowl and mix with water to make a thin pouring consistency and spread over the tart whilst still hot. Scatter over the flaked almonds, return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Links to previous postings:
Quick Portuguese Tarts
Apple & Pear Crumble Tart
Pear & Almond Tart with Chocolate Sauce
Blackberry & Apple Crumble Tart

Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Tart: Recipe

In market towns they have plentiful supplies of purple sprouting broccoli, white sprouting broccoli is worth looking out for too (Nigel Slater has written a helpful article in the Guardian). My greengrocer sells purple sprouting broccoli in a small bundle and it is ridiculously expensive, I had to take a deep breath before handing over my money.

The recipe for this tart is from April 2013 Delicious Magazine, fortunately it only needs a few broccoli spears.  The original recipe uses Wensleydale Cheese and also double cream but I've adapted the recipe, I had a slab of Cheddar cheese and a pot of creme fraiche in the fridge and they worked perfectly.

Adapted recipe.

You will need: 26cm loose based flan tin

few spears of purple sprouting broccoli
2 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely diced
3 large eggs and 2 yolks, beaten
250ml creme fraiche
150g Cheddar cheese, grated
35g cream cheese

For the pastry:
300g plain flour
145g butter, chilled and cubed
approx 4 tbsp iced water

1. Whiz the flour and butter in a food processor until the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add 4 tablespoons of iced water and whiz again until the pastry starts to come together.  Tip out onto a board and form into a ball of dough.  Shape into a round, and cover with cling wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and allow to stand for a while, otherwise it will be difficult to roll out the pastry.
2. Preheat the oven to 190ºC.  Roll out the pastry and line the tart tin with pastry, I always use this method from Delia's site How To Bake a Pastry Case.
3. Reduce the oven temperature to 180ºC.
4. Blanch the broccoli spears in salted boiling water for 2 minutes, drain and refresh in ice-cold water.    Drain really well again.
5. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the shallots for 10 minutes to soften.
6. Whisk the eggs, yolks, cream, Cheddar and cream cheese in a jug, season.
7. Spread the shallots on the base of the pastry case.  Pour over the egg mixture.  Arrange the broccoli florets over the egg mixture.  Bake for approximately 20 minutes until just set.
8. Remove from the oven and cool.  Best eaten whilst warm.

Quick Portuguese Tarts - Jamie's 30 Minute Meals

A few weeks ago I went on holiday to Madeira, and as usual when I am away from home, I like to experience local cakes and pastries, especially sitting outside a cafe on a fabulous sunny day. Cinnamon is a popular ingredient used in cakes and pastries - apple and cinnamon cake, banana and cinnamon cake and Portuguese Tarts, to name a few.  There were quite a few happy cake and pastry tastings, together with far too many cups of amazing coffee.

Whilst Jamie's Quick Portuguese Tarts aren't the same as we were served in Madeira, the filling is light, the orange caramel topping is superb and I could quite happily have eaten the lot!

I didn't cook these against the clock, I can't do it, won't do it - otherwise we end up with car crash food.

There are plenty of great recipes in the book, although if you wish to cook only one of the suggested meal plans the method layout can be frustrating.

I hope you have a go at making these delicious tarts.

Gordon Ramsay's Apple & Pear Crumble Tart

A perfect tart for Christmas! With notes of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg - apples, pears, a delicious layer of almond frangipane, crisp pastry and a crumble topping.

I'm not too happy about sweet pastry when you have lot's of sweetness in a recipe, it's just too much and sugar overload. A well made shortcrust pastry base, baked blind until crisp is my preferred method.

I can't see any reason why this tart shouldn't freeze successfully, it can be sliced into portions when it is fridge cold and then put in the freezer. It also heats up successfully in the microwave. The tart is a real winner and will feed a crowd too. Simply serve with ice cream or pouring cream.

Gordon Ramsay has given us some fabulous recipes for desserts and this apple, pear and almond frangipane tart with a crumble topping is amazing.

The recipe is what I call high faff but it can be made in stages to lighten the faff element. I used my dicing gadget to make perfect dice of apples and pears because my knife skills are too clumsy to do this and I would probably end up in A&E!


Serves: 8

You will need: 34cm x 11cm oblong tin greased.

Filling: 4 Braeburn apples peeled and diced, 4 pears peeled and diced, a large pinch of ground ginger and cinnamon, a grating of nutmeg, 25g butter, juice of half a lemon.

Crumble: 160g unsalted butter, 2tbsp soft brown sugar, 150g plain flour, 80g demerara sugar, 25g roasted chopped hazelnuts.

Almond Frangipane: 50g butter, 50g icing sugar, 1 egg, 10g flour, 50g ground almonds.

Pastry: 220g plain flour, 50g lard, 50g butter, 3tbsp cold water

1. For the pastry: Put the flour, lard and butter in a food processor, blitz until breadcrumbs, add the cold water and process until the mixture comes together. Tip onto cling film, form into a flattened circle. Cover with clingwrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Roll out the pastry, line the tin and bake blind using Delia's method.
3. To make the frangipane: Cream the butter and icing sugar together, slowly mix in the egg, flour and ground almonds. Chill for 2 hours before using.
4. To make the filling: toss the diced fruit in lemon juice to stop them browning. Take the fruit and mix with the spices. Heat a knob of the butter until foaming, then add the fruit and toss for about 30 seconds. Add the soft brown sugar and cook until the fruit is soft, but not broken down. Cool.
5. To make the crumble: Rub the remaining butter into the flour and stir in the demerara sugar and hazelnuts. Fill the tart with the frangipane, then fruit, and top with the crumble mix.
6. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°F/Gas 4. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Review: MasterChef Kitchen Bible and a Recipe Goat's Cheese and Red Onion Tart

The recipes in the MasterChef Kitchen Bible are from easy to advanced, and this is a book brimming with achievable recipes in both the Modern Classics section and Favourite Recipes from the MasterChef Series. There is a wealth of information regarding ingredients, hints, tips, technical know-how and excellent step-by-step photographs with detailed instructions.


A record audience of 9 million viewers tuned into the final of the latest series of the popular MasterChef final on BBC television and the MasterChef Kitchen Bible is the ultimate cooking companion to help you become an expert in your home.

The first section of the book takes us through a collection of 100 Modern Classics all good cooks should know, with a photograph to accompany the majority of the recipes. Recipes include eggs Benedict and smoked haddock risotto, to lemon tart and indulgent red velvet cupcakes.

The following section gives 30 Recipes from the MasterChef Series including a recipe from the MasterChef 2010 Champion Dhruv Baker - Spiced Battered Fish and Chips, Exploding Lemon Macaroons by Tim Kinnaird Finalist 2010, White Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry and Elderflower Jelly by Claire Lara - Professionals Champion 2010. Fellow food blogger, Celebrity Finalist 2009 Wendi Peters Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe will be adored by fans of 'proper puddings'.

Baked Lime Cheesecake with Rum Cream - Dennice Russell Semi-finalist 2009.

MasterChef Know-How - a section recommending essential tools, 150 MasterChef skills classes, and essential information on buying, storing, preparing and cooking a range of key ingredients. There are recommendations for buying the best knives, pots and pans, and additional equipment must haves. Clear step-by-step instructions showing everything from boning a flat fish to making hollandaise sauce.

GOAT'S CHEESE AND RED ONION TART - Lisa Faulkner Celebrity Champion 2010.

For the Pastry: Small sprig thyme, 100g plain flour, 25g butter, 25g lard.
For the Red Onion Jam: 25g butter, 25g soft brown sugar, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1-2 tbsp cassis, salt and freshly ground black pepper, 2 finely sliced red onions.
For the Goat's Cheese: 175g crumbly Goat's cheese, 1 egg yolk, 1-2 tbsp double cream.
For the Salad: handful of rocket leaves, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice.

Serves: 4

1. To make the pastry, strip the thyme leaves into a food processor and add the flour, butter, and lard. Mix on the pulse setting to form crumbs. Gradually add enough water (about 2-3 tbsp) to form a soft dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
2. To make the onion jam, melt the butter in a saute pan and add the sugar, vinegar, cassis, and some seasoning. Add the onions, bring to the boil and cook, uncovered, over a very low heat for 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oven to 200°C(400°F/Gas6). Place a sturdy baking sheet in the oven. Divide the pastry into quarters, then roll them out, and use to line four 10cm loose-bottomed
tart tins. Line with greaseproof paper and baking beans. Place on the heated baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and lining paper and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
4. Trim away any rind on the goat's cheese and crumble the cheese into a bowl. Mix with the egg yolk and a splash of cream. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Reserve about a third of the red onion jam to use as garnish, then divide the rest between the tartlets and spoon the goat's cheese mixture on top. Return to the oven for 7-8 minutes, or until the tops are bubbling and tinged with brown.
6. For the salad, rinse the rocket leaves and pat dry. Pour the olive oil and lemon juice into a bowl, and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Add the rocket leaves and toss gently to coat.
7. To serve, place a spoonful of red onion jam on the centre of each plate. Carefully remove the tarts from their tins and sit them on top of the jam. Top with rocket salad and serve.

MasterChef Kitchen Bible Dorling Kindersley £26.

Thank you Sophia for the wonderful book.

DK have just launched their first cookery App: Quick Cook for iPad. The app is based on DK bestselling Cook Express book, which makes choosing recipes, planning menus, shopping for food and the cooking itself, fast, fun and hassle-free. The DK Quick Cook App has over 500 illustrated recipes and is the perfect addition for any cook, helping you to prepare fresh, simple meals with minimal time and effort required.

The DK Quick Cook App is available for £3.99 from the App Store on iPad or from iTunes.

Apple and Cherry Tart

This recipe is from Bill Granger Every Day. On my bookshelf there is a gap just waiting to be filled with his latest book, Bill's Basics. I have all of his other books and started buying them before he was a recognised name in this country. It was his love of breakfast and brunch that attracted me to him, and also the fact that he has the ability to even make scrambled eggs seem glamorous.


I chose to make one large tart in my tarte tatin tin, it needs to be made in a metal pie dish of some sort otherwise the underneath pastry won't cook, soggy pastry bottoms are horrid. The individual tarts are a bit fiddly because you have to line the muffin tin holes with strips of baking parchment, to lift the tarts out after they are cooked, but they are worth every minute of your time. A more cost effective way is to put the filling in a tart tin and just top with the pastry which is something I have done in the past, so one recipe and lots of different ways to make the tart.



The sweet pastry is fabulous, although I think it would be a good idea to use less sugar, the pastry rolls out easily which is always something to be grateful for. I'm not a fan of sweet pastry because it can be sugar overload especially when the filling has already had sugar added to it.

According to my husband this tart is one of the best I have ever made and everyone should like it - I think I'll make this one again because I think it did the trick, he bought me some new furniture today!

The recipe can be found here on the Good Food Channel website. A couple of things regarding this link, the photograph doesn't look like cherry pies and also the mixed spice isn't in the original recipe.

Leon Book 2 - Naturally Fast Food

Leon are healthy eating fast food restaurants based in London. They have an array of awards, and a loyal following of clientele who appreciate food which is naturally full of flavour, goodness, tastes good and does you good too.

My son lives in London and always enthuses how, just by stepping over the Leon threshold he feels healthier, and describes Leon food as happy food.

With such encouraging words from my son, I purchased the first Leon Cookbook written by Allegra McEvedy, and my copy is now definitely well thumbed.

The second cookbook, Leon Book 2 Naturally Fast Food, is written by Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent. This is a quirky cookery book resembling a personal scrapbook.

The book is written in two parts. The first section is Fast Food, recipes that can easily be made in 20 minutes, including Saturday Pancakes, Jossy's Mystery Soup and Hattie's Sweet Onion Frittata.

I thought there was a printing error when I came to Page 192 for Upside-Down Apple & Cardamom Tart, but to my delight they had printed the recipe and photographs upside down! As a dessert lover I just couldn't resist making this recipe.


Another recipe from Fast Food is Coconut Chicken and Petit Pois Curry - a delicious curry made with coconut milk, tikka paste and nigella seeds. Great for a midweek meal and ready in no time at all.


The second section is Slow Fast Food, dishes to be made in advance and then reheated. I love the thoughts of Henry's 18-Hour Beef, Benny's Slow-Cooked Lamb or Bruno's Osso Bucco.

Also, there are sections devoted to preserving, ice creams, cocktails, 70's party food, just to name a few.


Don't forget to check out the back of the book too, there is a page called Drawers of Wishes - 'There is a chest in the Leon at Ludgate Circus with many drawers. No one knows quite how it started, but over the years it has filled up with the wishes of people who eat with us'.

Thank you to Fiona at Octopus Books for the review copy of Leon Book 2 Naturally Fast Food.

GOAT'S CHEESE AND SALMON TART

This recipe is from Gizzi's Kitchen Magic, the original recipe title is Goat's Cheese and Pea Tart. I knew peas in a tart wouldn't be to my taste and left them out, I don't think the tart suffered from this exclusion. If you would like to include the peas, then 120g of fresh peas are added along with the onions, salmon and goat's cheese.


Slightly adapted recipe.

Serves: 6

A 17cm tart tin lined with shortcrust pastry and baked blind.

You will need: 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 1 peeled and wedged small red onion, 100ml white wine, 120g smoked salmon cut into thin strips, 100g soft goat's cheese, 3 free-range eggs, 150ml double cream, 30g grated Parmesan cheese, freshly ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon of chopped chives.

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas 3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the red onion and fry on a moderate heat for 5 minutes or until slightly charred but beginning to soften. Remove from the pan and put to one side.
2. Pour the white wine into a pan and boil on a high heat for 5 minutes, or until the wine has reduced by two-thirds and is syrupy. Pour into a mixing bowl and leave to cool for 5 minutes or so.
3. Scatter the red onions, smoked salmon strips and goats cheese into the cooked pastry tart. Add the eggs, cream and Parmesan to the reduced white wine and whisk together. Season well and stir in the herbs. Pour into a measuring jug.
4. Place the tart case on a baking tray and pour in the liquid - the mixture will come fairly high up the edge of the tart case. Place carefully on the bottom shelf of the oven, as the lower heat will stop the tart cooking too fast and prevent it rising like a souffle.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the tart begins to turn golden. You will still have a little wobble but it should not be runny. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Afternoon Tea in Birmingham

Question - where can we go for a traditional afternoon tea in Birmingham?

Unfortunately there are only a few places to choose from and the best of the few options was the Hyatt Regency. We had a champagne afternoon tea in elegant surroundings and it was perfect. Champagne, finger sandwiches, cakes and pastries, all beautifully presented. The staff are very helpful, and they made it a wonderful afternoon for us.


I ordered a coffee latte and it came with lots of very fine layers - has anyone seen coffee with so many layers? My coffee looked fabulous and didn't disappoint on taste either.

NOTE:  Since writing this post in 2010 afternoon tea at the Hyatt has been brought up to date and looks fabulous.  Whilst at the Hyatt for a meal, the next table were enjoying afternoon tea and it looked amazing - February 2013.

FOODIE GIFTS


My son spoilt me with some foodie gifts he bought from the Algerian Coffee Stores in London.

Sfizio Bronte Pistachio Cantucci, Formula Rossa Coffee, Zotter Pistachios Chocolate Bar, Chocolate Nougat, an artistic tea ball (this is tightly rolled tea which opens when infused to unveil flowers inside) and Xocolata Pedra (you break a piece of chocolate off the block and melt it with your milk to make a rich hot chocolate).

So far I've eaten the pistachio chocolate bar and also the chocolate nougat, it's not a difficult task working my through all of this - of course I've shared this with my husband, you don't think I would eat all of this by myself - do you?

PURPLE SPROUTING BROCCOLI, LEEK & ALMOND TART

This recipe comes from the BBC Good Food Magazine March 2010 and is by the talented food writer Celia Brooks Brown.

Purple sprouting broccoli has a very short season and so we need to make the most of it whilst it is around. I bought mine from an independent greengrocer, but if you are lucky enough to live in a market town, it should be more plentiful on the market stalls and not so costly. For this recipe you will only need a few spears of purple sprouting broccoli.

The tart was delicious and is on my 'make again' list for next year.

Serves: 6

You will need: 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 finely sliced leeks, 500g pack puff pastry, 1 tbs polenta or semolina, 6 trimmed spears purple sprouting broccoli, 150ml creme fraiche, 50g finely grated Parmesan, 2 egg yolks, 25g flaked almonds.

1. First heat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas 7.
2. Heat up a frying pan over a medium heat and then add the oil. Now cook the leeks, with a lid on, stir occasionally until just tender which should take about 5 minutes. Put on one side.
3. Lightly flour a surface and roll out the pastry to a 26cm circle, drawing round a dinner plate or similar as a template.
4. Cover a baking tray with parchment paper and sprinkle with either the semolina or polenta, place the pastry circle on top. Score a circle about 2cm from the outside edge.
5. Now spread the leeks evenly inside the scored circle, bake for 10 minutes until the edges have puffed up. Remove from the oven and turn the heat down to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6.
6. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Blanch the broccoli in the boiling water for 1 minute, drain and cool under running water. Drain thoroughly and arrange on top of the leeks.
7. Mix together the creme fraiche, Parmesan, egg yolks, salt and pepper, now pour over the veg.
8. Bake the tart for 15 minutes and then sprinkle over the flaked almonds, return the tart to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes, until golden.
9. Can be served either warm or cold.

LEEK AND GRUYERE QUICHE

The summer has reached the West Midlands at last! We can now have barbecues without having to run for cover and cook under the parasol, we can even eat quiche!

My tomato plants are at last happy and producing good red cherry tomatoes. Even some of the plants that have been on a back burner have burst into life and are trying their very best to put on a show for me.

If you are in the mood for quiche and have some leeks lurking in the fridge then this is a great recipe to use them up. A delicious quiche but try not to cook it to within an inch of its life because it will carry on cooking whilst cooling.

Oh dear look what happened to my pastry! This was after resting the pastry before rolling out, and then after popping the lined tin to rest in the fridge for half an hour or so. It didn't matter though and if I had removed the quiche from the tin you would never have known! Taking a belt and braces approach, by either pressing the uncooked pastry just above the rim of the tin or letting the pastry overhang the tin and when it's cooked just trim the pastry neatly from around the edges of the tin. I've never managed to trim the cooked pastry from around the tin neatly to this day!


One of my favourite Gary Rhodes recipes, although I think it is fair to say, I haven't come across many of his recipes on food blogs.

GARY RHODES - TIME TO EAT

ISBN 9780718153144

Page 180 - Serves 4 people

You will need:

a large piece of butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 sliced large onion, 1 large leek finely shredded and washed, 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 150ml double cream or milk, 100g Gruyere cheese grated, salt, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 175g fresh or frozen ready-made shortcrust pastry (although I made my own).

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 and butter a loose 20cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil together in a large frying pan. Once sizzling, fry the sliced onion for 5 to 6 minutes before adding the leek. Continue to fry for a further minute or two, then spread them on to a tray to cool.
3. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them together with the extra egg yolk, and then add the cream or milk. Stir in the grated cheese and onion and leek and season with the salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
4. Roll our the pastry on a lightly floured surface and line the tart tin. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans or dried rice and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
5. Bake blind for 15 to 20 minutes, and then allow to cool. Remove the greaseproof paper and baking beans and cut away the excess pastry. Lower the oven temperature to 160°C/325°F/Gas 3.
6. Pour the filling mixture into the pastry case and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until just set. Remove the quiche from the oven and leave to rest for 20 minutes before serving just warm.

MUSHROOM QUICHE

Delicious Magazine is a great source of reliable recipes, they devote a section to 'veggie matters', which is where this quiche recipe came from.

If you are off on a picnic anytime soon, this is the perfect quiche to take with you!

The recipe title should be 'with parsley pastry', but I feared I would possibly end up with green pastry! Maybe, I just wasn't feeling very lucky the day I made the quiche and so decided to play it safe using the usual shortcrust pastry.

I always use Delia's foolproof method for baking the pastry 'blind' and to date it has never let me down, also it gives a wonderful crisp pastry without all the messing about with parchment paper and baking beans.

Quiche can take forever to make, but I now make mine in stages, it seems to be less painful this way.

. Make the pastry and rest in the fridge.
. Later remove pastry from the fridge, roll out, line the tin and prick the pastry with a fork.
. Pop lined tin in the freezer overnight.
. Remove pastry case and prepare to Delia's instructions.
. Whilst the pastry case is cooking, deal with the filling ingredients.

Well, it works for me anyway!!


Equipment: 35cm x 10cm x 3cm deep fluted tart tin with loose base.

You will need: 30g unsalted butter, 1 finely chopped red onion, 200g sliced button mushrooms, 1 tsp lemon juice, 4 tbs chopped fresh flatleaf parsley, 3tbs snipped fresh chives, 2 large free-range eggs lightly beaten, 170ml whipping cream.

For the pastry: 155g plain flour, 3tbs very finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley (if you are making the parsley pastry), 90g cold unsalted butter chopped, 1 large free-range egg yolk and you may need a couple of teaspoons of iced water.

1. To make the pastry, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Mix the parsley through. Lightly rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre. Add the egg yolk to the well and mix, using a knife, until a rough dough forms, adding a little iced water if needed. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. Cover with cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2.Roll out the pastry on a sheet of baking paper until large enough to fit the base and sides of the tin. Line the tin and trim the edges. Chill for 20 minutes.
3.Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/Gas5. Bake the pastry shell using Delia's method. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/fan160°C/Gas4.
4. Make the mushroom filling. Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the onion and saute over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes until soft. Stir in the lemon juice and herbs. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and cream together and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
5. Spread the mushroom mixture into the pastry shell and pour the egg mixture over the top. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the filling has set.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature.

LEMON TART BRULEE

'You Challenge Gordon Ramsay' is a new series in Olive Magazine where a reader challenges Gordon Ramsay to see if their recipe against his, in a blind test by three members of the Olive Magazine reader panel, matches up to Gordon's. Of course Gordon won, but only by one point!

The lemon tart has melted dark chocolate brushed over the cooked pastry case and this is then allowed to cool before adding the lemon filling. I chose not to use the chocolate because I wasn't too sure about messing about with a classic recipe. The purpose of the chocolate, although not written about in the recipe, is I presume to keep the pastry base from going soft. Next time I make the tart though, it will definitely be with the chocolate base!

The pastry can be made in the food processor, a quick whizz and it's done. The pastry is quite sticky and I decided to roll the pastry out between two sheets of cling film to make life easier.

If you decide to have a go at making this tart try not to over cook the filling, but leave it at the wobble stage in the centre.


When the tart had cooled I dusted it with icing sugar and then my husband ran an industrial blowtorch over the surface to give a brulee effect! You don't think I'm going to use that thing, do you?!!! If you scan down to the end of this posting you will see him having some brulee fun.

The filling had lots of lemon flavour and not too sweet, the pastry was very similar to shortbread. I'll definitely be making this again - but not this side of Christmas!

OLIVE MAGAZINE - October 2008 Page 61 The tart serves 8 people and the recipe can be found here.

ROASTED TOMATO AND GOATS' CHEESE TART WITH THYME

Whilst looking at Delia's site for bbq inspiration I came across this tart recipe. We had a bbq yesterday, and I served this alongside all of our usual meats and salads.

I used vine tomatoes which I had bought previously and picked a few thyme leaves out of the garden. The goat's cheese was in the fridge, the puff pastry in the freezer and so I was ready to go, go, go!

Lovely, lovely tart and it looked so summery too!

The recipe can be found here.