A Christmas Tart with Crispy Pastry and Crunchy Feta

Around half of my close family are vegetarian or non-meat eaters, so one of our Christmas gatherings will probably include the usual poultry but definitely one of my vegetarian creations. The 'others' are kind and aware of the roast potato thing (separate, cooked in oil) and the rest of it, so all will be well.

This year, we expect that eight of us will meet up at my brother's for a pre-Christmas lunch, and I've been practising the main course that I'll bring for myself, Mr P, and any of the others who are tempted. It has eight ingredients and needs 25-30 mins baking. 

Best way is to make the pastry case first, to cover the base and sides of the dish, and leave it chilling in the fridge while prepping all other ingredients. If using frozen pastry sheets, leave in the fridge overnight to thaw or at room temp about 3h. Once the case is ready, 20mins should see the ingredients processed and the tart ready for the oven. Quantities can be halved, doubled and so on. If preparing in advance, don't fill the pastry case until it's time to bake the tart, otherwise the base could go soggy.

This quantity nicely fills a shallow 18-20cm diameter dish, and it's best to line the base with a circle of parchment to make sure the pastry won't stick to the dish.

Christmas Tart - serves 4.  
Oven can go on at around the time the mushrooms start to sautee, at 180C.
Here's what mine looked like - any leftover pastry can be made into decorations and just placed on the top:

Ingredients
200g short pastry - home-made or as a frozen ready-rolled sheet, rolled out a little
          more thinly to make it bake to crispy and light
2 tbsp oil
150g interesting mushrooms, e.g. shiitake, oyster (straight whites OK too), trimmed
          and coarsely sliced
6 tbsp cranberry sauce, drained of loose liquid
1 egg
60ml double cream
150g vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts, halved
80g feta, roughly chopped

Method
1  As above, line the base of the oven-proof dish with parchment, set the pastry
          in it and leave to chill.
2  Heat the oil in a medium pan. Add the mushrooms and sautee gently 4-5 mins,
          stirring occasionally, then set aside to cool.
3  Spread the cranberry sauce evenly over the base of the tart.
4  Beat the egg and cream in a small bowl.
5  Scatter the chestnuts, mushrooms and feta evenly over the tart.
6  Pour the egg and cream mixture into the dish, aiming for it to top all of the
          other ingredients and fill any gaps.
7  Bake towards the top of the oven for 25-30mins until nicely browned. Remove
          from the oven and leave for 3 mins or so to finish setting before serving.
          
Serve with ...
... just a side salad for a light meal, otherwise roasted potatoes, boiled and buttered baby potatoes, broccoli or beans. I don't think this needs a sauce, but it could take a parsley sauce quite nicely.


Alternatives
Canned evaporated milk - maybe 100ml - could replace the cream if necessary. For a herby version, perhaps thyme leaves or snipped basil. Blue cheese could replace feta, and tastes great cooked, but here the feta ends up slightly crunchy which is delightful along with the crispy pastry.

Nice Savoury Tart for the Family - Leek, Mushroom & Walnut

Usually my recipes serve 2 or 4, but since I made this tart for 6 of us, here are the recipe and the quantities used. It's at its finest straight out of the oven - and is most easily divided by cutting with scissors! Can be eaten at room temperature, or - if there is any left - reheated in a moderate oven for about ten minutes.

Ready-rolled pastry is a little more expensive than block, but saves so much time. Here I used a single sheet of Sainsbury's puff pastry; it weighs 375g, which is a little more than most other brands, and just right for six.

Leek, Mushroom and Walnut Tart
Ingredients

READY

375g sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
3 tbsp decent oil
4 fat leeks, trimmed & sliced to about 15mm
200g mushrooms, trimmed & thinly sliced
50g walnut pieces, chopped coarsely
2 eggs
150ml creme fraiche or double cream
90g blue cheese - preferably vegetarian Stilton
2 tbsp snipped sage leaves (or other herb)

Method 
1  Line a large rectangular baking sheet with parchment. Unroll the pastry and place 
    on the sheet, then use fingers to pinch up the sides all round to about 15mm.

STEADY

2  Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large pan and saute 
    the leeks for about 10 mins; stir occasionally.
    Move them from the pan into a large bowl.

3  Add the rest of the oil to the pan and saute the
    mushrooms and walnuts for 3-4 mins. Add to 
    the leeks.

4  Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl with the creme 
    fraiche or cream, then crumble in the cheese, 
    add the sage and mix well.

5  Spread the leeks and mushrooms evenly across the pastry, then pour the egg/creme
    mixture over them and smooth out.

6  Bake for 30-35 mins until the filling is set and the pastry browning nicely.

GO!

Adjustments, Anyone?
If the family likes tomatoes, halved baby cherry or plum tomatoes could be dotted around the tart before baking, cut side upwards. If there's no sage, thyme leaves or coriander would be good. Hazel nuts could be substituted for walnuts, and you could add peas or sweetcorn!

Sides
We had a salad of baby spinach leaves, rocket, celery, cucumber, chopped dates and chopped pears. For a more substantial meal, buttered baby potatoes would be nice, and parsnips roasted in a lower shelf as the tart cooks instead of salad.

And to Drink?
Either a dry white wine or a light red (e.g. beaujolais) might go well, otherwise perhaps apple juice or just a sparkling mineral water.

Cauliflower, Stilton & Tomato Tart, a pub favourite

While thinking of dropping into a chain pub/restaurant, I checked their menu online, probably like countless other skeptical vegetarians. Only two choices appeared, a simple pasta dish, or - cauliflower, cheese and tomato tart. That'd be good. But then again, it sounded so simple that I decided to make it at home. Cauliflower, cheese, tomato, pastry?

The freezer already contains portions of various tarts, but since I enjoy making them to eat straight from the oven, we forget to forage for them. Accordingly, I make this dish for just two portions, especially as there was half a rolled sheet of puff pastry in the freezer just asking for it. Hence the picture which looks as though the tart is topped with giant tomatoes. 

The quantities here would make four to six helpings. Once the pastry is thawed in the fridge, the tart takes about an hour from start to serving and there are no complicated manoeuvres. The step of brushing the pastry with egg and baking an initial five minutes before filling isn't vital, but it helps to form a barrier to prevent the base from becoming soggy.

Cauliflower, Stilton and Tomato Tart
The oven will need to be at 175C, middle shelf. A baking sheet ready lined with parchment will make sure the pastry doesn't stick while cooking. The pastry should be thawed, preferably overnight or for a few hours in the fridge. If you like pastry to be thin, the sheet can be rolled out to a slightly larger area.

Ingredients
1 sheet of frozen rolled puff pastry
1 medium cauliflower trimmed into small florets (leaves can be saved to use later)
1 tbsp oil
1 large onion (or 2 medium), peeled and coarsely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100ml double cream
100g Stilton, crumbled (or another blue cheese or Cheddar)
Half tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced

Method
1  Unroll the pastry and place centrally on the lined baking sheet. Turn up about 15mm
         all around the edge, pinching the corners to help keep the turn-up in place. Prick
         the base a number of times with a fork to help prevent it rising in the oven.
2  Put the oven on about now!
3  Boil a good amount of water in a large pan. Add the cauliflower and simmer 6-7 mins
         then drain well and leave to cool a little.
4  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small pan, then saute the onions gently for 5 mins.
5  Brush the pastry case very thinly with a little of the beaten egg; put it in the oven
         for 5 mins to help seal the base, then remove from oven.
6  Add the cream to the eggs and mix well. Stir in the crumbled cheese and the salt &
         pepper.
7  When the tart is out, press the base down gently if it has risen. Spread the onions 
         over the base and arrange the cauliflower florets over them. Pour the egg mixture
         carefully on top, then arrange the tomato slices over the tart.
8  Bake for about 25 mins until the pastry is golden and the filling looks set.

We served this with only a heap of buttered Jersey Royals sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander. And a dry white wine.

A chopped herb of choice could be sprinkled over the tart before cooking, or sliced mushrooms added just before baking. 

An alternative presentation is to make individual tarts, either on a baking sheet using the 'turn-up' way, or using a tray of individual Yorkshire pudding tins. In this case, slightly less filling would be needed. The tart is nice at room temperature, but if there are leftovers, I think they're nicest given about 5 mins in the oven to crisp up the pastry. Shortcrust pastry would be OK and perhaps more traditional, but I'm seduced by the golden flakiness of puff pastry and always have it in the freezer. 

I keep two files of recipe cuttings and scribblings. One has ideas which sound great but are yet to be tried, but the other is the tried-and-tested collection, separated into lots of categores in a really nerdy way, e.g.starters not soup, soup, mains with pastry, mains with pasta, veg sides, biscuits/cakes.This recipe has gone straight into the latter.

Sweet Party Nibbles: Choc & Cherry Palmiers

Most party guests are happy to dive into a savoury buffet, but watch their eyes when the desserts come out! These small palmiers are easy to make, look good, and taste excellent. I invented them when invited to pre-lunch drinks with neighbours, since usually I'd take either chocolates or savoury nibbles such as cheese crisps, and wanted a change.

Dried cranberries could replace the cherries, halved if large - or even cranberry sauce - but good cherries are, for me, the food of the gods.

A cherry stoner (usually combined with garlic press - nice combination ...) saves time and is a little less messy. The palmiers should take about 40mins from start to ready, not including time to thaw the pastry (overnight in the fridge or 2-3hours at room temp). Equipment needed, apart from cherry stoner, is just a baking sheet lined with parchment, a rolling pin (or even a straight-sided bottle!) and a sharp knife.

The recipe makes about 36 nibble-sized palmiers, and the oven should be at 175C.

50p piece indicates size

Chocolate & Cherry Palmiers

Ingredients

Half sheet of frozen ready-rolled puff pastry (or 180g) (see Method 1)

40g fresh cherries, stoned

120g chocolate or choc/hazelnut spread

A little beaten egg

1 tbsp gran sugar

Method

1  With the rolled pastry sheet still frozen, cut it in half crossways and leave it to thaw.

         The other half can return to the freezer.

2  Chop the cherries quite finely.

3  Unroll the thawed pastry on a floured board, and roll it just a little more thinly 

         widthways. Don't worry if the longer edges are not straight.

4  Spread the chocolate evenly over the pastry - if it's too thick and threatens to tear

         the pastry, it could be microwaved for 10secs first.

5  Scatter the cherry pieces in two lines lengthwise a little in from the edges like so:

The red silicon pastry mat doesn't do
any favours here, but bear with me

6  Roll up each long edge tightly towards the middle. Just before they 'meet', brush the

         facing edges with egg to help seal them, then press together and turn the whole

         thing over so the join is on the underside.

7  With a very sharp knife, slice into 10-12mm pieces. Place them flat on the baking

         sheet, a little apart, and brush them all over with egg. Sprinkle the sugar over.

8  Bake for 10-12mins or until the pastry is golden brown. 

These were very well received at the drinks do, I'm glad to say, and the recipe has been transferred to the fat but hallowed 'recipes that work' file. As opposed to the 'recipes to try sometime' collection. However, it seems clear that I need to enrol on a course on food photography!