The Food Wizard of Oz
Zucchini, feta & asparagus tart with chia pastry (pictured above)
Serves 6-81 quantity (575g) sour cream pastry (see right) with 3 tbsp chia seeds added to the flour
2 tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, pale part only, chopped
1 zucchini, about 150g, grated
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp chopped chives
6 free-range eggs
200ml thin (pouring/ whipping) cream
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
12 asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed
100g grated Gruyère cheese
100g crumbled feta cheese
Sour cream pastry
150g chilled salted butter
300g plain flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
125g sour cream
Chop the chilled butter into chunks, then place in a food processor with the flour. Pulse until the butter is the size of cherries. Add the sour cream and pulse again, until just incorporated.
Turn out onto a cool, floured surface and form the dough into a rectangle. Cover and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 mins.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. On a lightly floured workbench, roll out the pastry to about 8mm thick. Press into a 23cm loose-based fluted flan/ tart tin and trim the edges. Rest in the fridge again for 20 mins.
Line the tart shell with a sheet of baking paper, then fill with baking beads or uncooked rice or dried beans. Bake for 15 mins. Remove the baking paper and beads, then bake for a further 10 mins, or until the pastry is golden. Remove the tart shell from the oven; reduce the oven temperature to 150C/300F.
While the pastry is blindbaking, heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Sauté the leek over medium heat for 5-10 mins, or until soft and fragrant. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Spread the cooled leek over the blind-baked tart shell. Squeeze as much water out of the grated zucchini as possible, then arrange on top of the leek. Sprinkle with the mint and chives.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the tart. Lay the asparagus spears on top, then sprinkle with the Gruyère and feta. Bake for 25 mins, or until the filling is cooked in the centre and the pastry is golden.
This tart is equally lovely served hot or cold.
Little leek & Gruyère tarts
Makes 24
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 leeks, pale part only, thinly sliced, washed and dried
2 fresh bay leaves
4 free-range eggs
250ml thin (pouring/ whipping) cream
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground white pepper
500g home-made or shopbought shortcrust pastry
100g finely grated Gruyère cheese
Preheat the oven to 160C/315F. Lightly grease 24 small flan/tart tins, measuring about 7cm across and 2cm deep.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Sauté the leek and bay leaves over medium heat for 10 mins, or until the leek is soft and fragrant. Set aside to cool.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt and pepper.
On a lightly floured workbench, roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. Use an 8cm cookie cutter to cut out 24 pastry rounds. Line the tins with the pastry rounds.
Place a heaped teaspoon of the sautéed leek in each, then pour in the egg mixture, about two-thirds of the way up to the top, leaving room for the cheese. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 15-20 mins, or until the tarts are a lovely golden colour.
Lemon curd cheesecake
Serves 12
150g digestive biscuits
75g caster sugar
75g unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp warm water
250ml good-quality lemon curd
thick (double) cream, to serve (optional)
candied lemon slices, to garnish (optional)
sifted icing sugar, for dusting
For the filling
300g cream cheese
180g caster sugar
300g sour cream
3 large free-range eggs
zest and juice of 1 lemon
Grease the base of a 23cm springform cake tin. Line the base and sides with baking paper.
Break the biscuits into bits and place in a food processor. Blend until smooth, and the consistency of sand, then tip into a bowl. Add the sugar, melted butter and water and mix until all the crumbs are damp with the butter, like wet sand. Using the back of a metal spoon, and a straight-sided glass, press the crumb mixture into the base of the tin.
Place in the fridge to set for an hour or so.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 150C/300F.
To make the filling, beat the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl, using an electric mixer, until soft and well combined. Add the sour cream and beat on slow speed to combine – don’t overbeat the mixture, or beat it too fast, as this will cause the cheesecake to rise during cooking, then crack as it is cooling down; always have the speed set to slow to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in each one until incorporated. Add the lemon zest and juice and beat slowly for about a minute.
Pour the mixture over the biscuit base. Bake for 1 hour, or until the cheesecake is a light golden colour, but still a bit wobbly in the middle. Leave to cool in the oven with the door ajar.
Refrigerate for 12 hours, or overnight, until chilled. Just before serving, spread with most of the lemon curd. Decorate with big dollops of thick cream and candied lemon slices, if desired. Drizzle with the remaining lemon curd, dust with icing sugar and serve.
In The Kitchen, by Simmone Logue, with photography by Ben Dearnley, is published by Murdoch Books, priced £17.99.