first taste of spring
March 9th, 2012 | Posted in Recipe Blogs by Mat
Hi guys,
Spring has finally sprung! It’s great because that means it’s foraging season again, so I can get out and about looking for freshly sourced ingredients.
Actually, I have a great Spring recipe I wanted to share with you. It’s perfect as an evening meal or a light lunch with friends. Of course, you don’t need to make the pastry from scratch, but I always find that these tarts taste so much better if you give it a go yourself. Homemade is always a winner in my opinion!
I’ve got loads of great new egg recipes, just like this one, to share with you. So do keep visiting my blog for new ideas!
Mat
spring tart
SERVES 8
Ingredients
For the pastry
100g salted butter, kept cold in the fridge
200g plain flour
2 happy egg yolks
(keep the whites for glazing the pastry)
Cold water, as needed
For the filling
2 happy egg yolks
150ml double cream
150ml milk
Pinch of salt
100g mild Goat’s cheese
6 asparagus spears
Method
For the pastry:
In a bowl, scrape the butter into small pieces, then, whilst slowly adding the flour, press and mix the ingredients to make a crumble mixture. Once it’s crumbly, add the happy egg yolks and mix through to bind the mixture loosely. If the mixture will not bind together, add 1 tsp of cold water and continue to mix. Only add 1 tsp of water at a time and never more than 4 tsp of water in total.
Place the pastry on a piece of clingfilm, wrap tightly, then roll into a sausage shape and place in the fridge for 60 minutes.
We need to blind-bake the tart base. On a floured surface, roll-out the pastry to a thickness of a £1 coin. Gently place the pastry in a floured tart tin and mould it into the corners with your fingers; don’t tidy the edges yet because the pastry will shrink when it is baked
Mat’s top tip: save a little of the pastry in case cracks or holes form during the blind baking.
Prick with a fork all over to stop it from rising and place in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 for 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven, check for any holes or cracks and patch them with your spare pastry. Allow the tart to cool for 5 minutes, glaze it with the beaten happy egg white to seal the base of the tart and place back in the oven for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the oven, and trim the edges with a sharp knife.
For the filling:
Make the custard by whisking together the happy eggs, happy egg yolks, cream, milk and salt. Whisk until it is smooth and fully combined. Cut 5 slices of goat’s cheese and set aside for decorating the tart. Crumble the rest of the goat’s cheese into the bowl and gently fold in.
To finish:
Turn the oven down to 140°C/275°F/Gas Mark 1. Pour the filling into the tart, decorate with the slices of goats cheese and the asparagus spears. Place the tart in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Check it’s cooked by lightly shaking the tin, the mixture should be firm but still a bit wobbly, like a jelly.
top tip: it will continue to cook for a while once removed from the oven.
May 17th, 2012 at 1:56 pm (#)
I’ve used puff pastry befroe but never tried these Martha-esque tarts. I think it’s time. Love the photo. Also–I was inspired by your pesto mayo and used it on some yummy sandwiches for a family party yesterday…it was a big hit. So yummy! I will do it again. Thx.