Over the past two weeks we've had the most glorious sunny, windless days. It's been great to be in the garden 'beavering away' - without being blasted by the wind.
The last gasp of sunny weather has also helped ripen my Isle of Capri tomatoes (don't they sound exotic) restoring my faith that I can actually grow tomatoes. I think the key to their success was my plant placement - a sheltered flat, sunny spot behind the house away from the blustery wind.
I also treated my little tomato plant like a baby. It was well tendered, fed wonderful 'tomato food' and borage 'magic mix'. And due to some great advice from a super gardener, I was a little more diligent with removing all the laterals.
I love tomatoes and will happily eat them raw, fried in butter and tossed through pasta or served on toast with lots of salt and pepper. And I love them, along with generous slices of avocado, served on toasted Burgen bread.
Meanwhile, my mini tomatoes were planted in the main garden and while it gets lots of sun, the wind whistles through a bit more. Granted there are lots of them on the vine, but they haven't ripened yet. My lovely neighbour has produced a large quantity of red ones in her garden. And she has shared them with me most weeks, which has been lovely. I suspect I planted my mini plants a little too late or maybe all the bees went next door - anyway mine are are a long way off going from green to red! The weather has now turned very wet, overcast and cold. It looks like I might soon be making one (only) jar of green tomato pickle with my crop!
Earlier in the week, I had a large group arriving for (an after work and pre-dinner) meeting. Before we could get down to business they would need some sustenance and I thought it might be nice to make mini tomato tarts. That way I was utilising some of my gifted mini tomatoes and the pastry recipe from my previous blog, this time for a savoury tart.
I was really pleased with the way they came out. I had lots of compliments too!
The ricotta makes for a lighter pastry treat, best to roll your pastry thinly too. And they look much better if you keep all your herbs finely chopped.
Filling for savoury tarts - you can vary what you add in the way of herbs and quantities of filling, it will depend on how many tarts you need to fill. This was about right for 2 dozen mini tarts plus one small tart for my lunch. These are rough measurements -
1 beaten egg
1 cup of ricotta
1 cup of finely grated cheese- I used my 'grating plane' and a mixture of Edam (Tasty would be better) and Parmesan
1tbsp of finely chopped fresh oregano - add more if you prefer
1 tbsp of finely chopped chives - or spring onions but not onions
Salt to taste
In a bowl add all the ingredients to the beaten egg, add salt to taste. Spoon into prepared pastry cases. Don't overfill. Place a tomato half on top.
Bake about 230 degrees C for about 10 minutes. Check. Then cook for about another 10 minutes watching the pastry doesn't brown too much, while ensuring the filling is cooked and set. Turn the oven down if needed. Some tarts sort of 'erupted' but I just gently pushed the little tomato back into the filling and it was fine when cooled.
I sprinkled a little more cheese on top of the tart, it was just delicious and even better - I didn't have to share!
The last gasp of sunny weather has also helped ripen my Isle of Capri tomatoes (don't they sound exotic) restoring my faith that I can actually grow tomatoes. I think the key to their success was my plant placement - a sheltered flat, sunny spot behind the house away from the blustery wind.
I also treated my little tomato plant like a baby. It was well tendered, fed wonderful 'tomato food' and borage 'magic mix'. And due to some great advice from a super gardener, I was a little more diligent with removing all the laterals.
I love tomatoes and will happily eat them raw, fried in butter and tossed through pasta or served on toast with lots of salt and pepper. And I love them, along with generous slices of avocado, served on toasted Burgen bread.
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| My first successful tomato - devoured within minutes of picking |
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| Isle of Capri tomatoes. Note the fancy tomato ties! |
Earlier in the week, I had a large group arriving for (an after work and pre-dinner) meeting. Before we could get down to business they would need some sustenance and I thought it might be nice to make mini tomato tarts. That way I was utilising some of my gifted mini tomatoes and the pastry recipe from my previous blog, this time for a savoury tart.
I was really pleased with the way they came out. I had lots of compliments too!
The ricotta makes for a lighter pastry treat, best to roll your pastry thinly too. And they look much better if you keep all your herbs finely chopped.
Filling for savoury tarts - you can vary what you add in the way of herbs and quantities of filling, it will depend on how many tarts you need to fill. This was about right for 2 dozen mini tarts plus one small tart for my lunch. These are rough measurements -
1 beaten egg
1 cup of ricotta
1 cup of finely grated cheese- I used my 'grating plane' and a mixture of Edam (Tasty would be better) and Parmesan
1tbsp of finely chopped fresh oregano - add more if you prefer
1 tbsp of finely chopped chives - or spring onions but not onions
Salt to taste
In a bowl add all the ingredients to the beaten egg, add salt to taste. Spoon into prepared pastry cases. Don't overfill. Place a tomato half on top.
Bake about 230 degrees C for about 10 minutes. Check. Then cook for about another 10 minutes watching the pastry doesn't brown too much, while ensuring the filling is cooked and set. Turn the oven down if needed. Some tarts sort of 'erupted' but I just gently pushed the little tomato back into the filling and it was fine when cooled.
I sprinkled a little more cheese on top of the tart, it was just delicious and even better - I didn't have to share!
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| My tart ready for the oven |
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| Mini tarts ready to eat |
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