Tomato tarts

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.

My first successful tomato - devoured within minutes of picking

Isle of Capri tomatoes. Note the fancy tomato ties!

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!

My tart ready for the oven

Mini tarts ready to eat

Mini lemon tarts using the best short crust pastry

I have acquired a new recipe book, actually it is an encyclopedia - written by the doyen of Australian food writers - Margaret Fulton. A lovely birthday gift from my Wellington family.
When I have time, I pour over it most days. I have uncovered some tremendous ideas and hints to improve my preparation, cooking and presentation of food. In a few words, this bible is an absolute gem! 

One morning I set about making a few lemon tarts for our hard working painter. To my dismay I discovered I didn't have short crust pasty in my freezer, what to do! 
.....I turned to Margaret for inspiration.
Her book has heaps of recipes for short crust pastry. Being an old fashioned sort of girl I chose the simplest one, it brought back lovely memories of 'Homecraft' classes at high school. Yes, there were easier and quicker choices in Margaret's book, but this time I chose not to use them.
This recipe is making pastry the old fashioned way. Unfortunately we don't have a marble top but it explains all the other right steps to ensure the best result for your pastry. And I found this pastry particularly nice as it was not sweet.
Plain Shortcrust Pastry - Margaret Fulton
Can be used for savoury pies, pastries etc.
225g (8oz) plain flour
pinch of salt
90g (3oz) chilled butter (diced)
about 3 tbsp iced water
squeeze of lemon juice
Sift flour and salt into a bowl
Add cold diced butter. Rub into flour using thumbs and tips of fingers ( I used my pastry cutter to get it started), lifting your hands above the bowl to aerate the mixture - until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
Mix water and juice and add a tbsp of liquid at a time using a round ended knife. When dough starts to cling together use your fingers to form into a ball. If needed, sprinkle in a little more liquid to dampen any mixture in the bowl and using the ball to gather up bits of dough. Dough should leave the bowl clean.
Place on floured board and knead lightly using the the heel of your hand to form a smooth dough.
Wrap in gladwrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Roll pastry into the shape you require, cut out tart shapes and place in (lightly greased) tin. Prick bottom of tart shell lightly with a fork.
Chill again for 15 minutes.
Bake in a hot oven 230°C or 450°F for six minutes then check, if they have puffed up just lightly push down with the back of a spoon then bake for a few more minutes until they are cooked and light brown. While still warm place about a spoonful of lemon curd in each tart. (Please see my blog for lemon curd recipe). Allow to cool.
I ended up with about two dozen lovely mini lemon tarts - perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. But the recipe would also make enough dough to line a 20 - 23 cm (8-9inches) pie plate of flan ring.
It was absolutely the best pastry I have ever made (and tasted) and I felt quite pleased with myself.

While mixing the dough I was thinking of my cooking tools. I inherited the pastry knife from my late mother and my daughter rescued an old (but in good nick) pastry cutter from a charity shop, my original one from my 1970's 'hope chest' was no longer useable. It made me wonder who will want my kitchen drawer of useful bits and pieces when I go. I would like to think my family will want to keep some of them. As they say, one woman's junk is another woman's treasure. I think of my Mum every time I use her well worn bone handled knife. I like to think they will remember me in the same way.

rub in butter until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs

make a well in the centre and add liquid a little at a time

The end result - I love lemon tarts!

To cook and dance, for love

These last few weeks have been a bit too busy in our household but despite that I am a very happy camper. This month produced a significant birthday for me. I wanted to celebrate this milestone with my friends and family so we arranged a party at our home. However, to add to all of the excitement, in early January a wedding proposal came from my beloved chap which I happily accepted.
While all were assembled at said party it was announced by our able MC that we secretly tied the knot on my birthday a few days before and we were now officially husband and wife. So in a nutshell I am very happy.

my wedding bouquet

People talk about this feeling as 'when the stars and moon are in alignment', there I am.
Back to the party. There were three (not negotiable) pillars to my party arrangements, great food, excellent wine and there must be dancing! ( I love to dance and decided one of my 2013 New Year resolutions was to dance more, to heck with the way I might look - think Kath Day-Night....).
However, to another love - creating in the kitchen. The menu was decided and the week well planned to ensure all was ready for the day. The suspense of keeping such a wonderful moment secret was not easy, however all the cooking and baking leading up to the party kept my mind and hands busy! During the week we also had house and dinner guests to feed (which included a vegetarian). Although some of the party 'starters' were catered for by Gipp Street Deli which were just fabulous - thanks to Sam and his talented team...

Caramelised onion tarts

my selection of tried and true recipes over the week did not let me down,

1960's party non-alcoholic punch

Devils on Horseback
Orange Hummus with bread
Carrot and Harissa dip
Potato and Fennel Tart
Peter's Five Egg Fruit Cake - Alison Holst (made as a birthday cake - ended up our wedding cake)
Drunken Chocolate Torte
Chocolate Mudcake Cake (Jo Seager's)   - omg - it took 2 days to make, but the end result....!
The Preservatory Apricot Slice
Bulgar Wheat and Courgette Salad
Roasted Potato Salad
Johnson's Coleslaw
Smoked salmon on wholemeal blinis (Ruth Pretty's recipe) 

and my lovely 'new' sister in law made us a Lemon cake (must get that recipe Elaine - lots of compliments), Vietnamese Salad and Quinoa Moroccan Salad.
At the party we complemented the salads with a huge ham on the bone and fillet steak from our local butcher (ably dressed and cooked by my wonderful friend and assistant Deb), deliciously cooked chickens from the caravan at Moore Wilson's and armfuls of wonderful fresh bread and huge rounds of cheese from Gambonis. There were so many kind helpers on the day, the cake was expertly decorated, table set and final touches made which greatly assisted in ensuring everything ran smoothly.
So over the week we hosted two dinner parties and a celebration party catering for 45 people. Very little was left over which just astounded me, I thought we may have over catered! We also ran out of the punch - everyone loved it! (Note to self - next time more food, more punch!) The good news was everyone had a great time and there is some wine and bubbles left to enjoy over the next few months. Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate.
A magic week  full of family, friends, food, wine, love, great weather and of course dancing. I am truly blessed......

cake topped off with a great retro cake decoration

Potato, Fennel, Olive and Lemon Tart

People talk a lot about comfort food, i.e. what makes them happy and contented, well for me this tart is one of those dishes. When I made it recently M and I almost ate the whole tart in one sitting, it was so tasty, tasty, tasty! If you do not like the flavour of  fennel it would still work with finely sliced leeks or onion. (I use my magic Swiss mandolin for slicing all the vegetables). But I think these flavours work well together and apart from the fresh fennel which can be pricey at the beginning or end of the season, it is an inexpensive lunch dish or a lovely starter for dinner (made into smaller square tarts) or carefully sliced into small squares for pre-dinner drinks. I love that I can use some of my preserved lemons too. This dish is just perfect for vegetarians. 
Potato, fennel, feta, olive and lemon tart - Chef: Lauraine Jacobs as heard on Nine to Noon Monday, 10 November 2008

Ingredients  
500g puff pastry
3 large Agria potatoes
1 egg, beaten
3 fennel bulbs, sliced paper thin
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
150 g crumbly feta cheese
½ cup olives, preferably stones removed
1 preserved lemon, flesh removed and rind cut into small dice
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
Fresh Italian parsley, stalks removed

Method

Roll out the pastry to fit a 30cm x 40cm oven tray. Allow the pastry to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

Meanwhile peel the potatoes, cut into 1.5 cm slices and simmer in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain well and cool.

Beat the egg and brush over the surface of the pastry. Spread the potato slices over the egg, and if there’s any extra egg, brush the potatoes with this.

Layer the fennel on top of the potatoes and scatter the seeds over. Crumble the cheese over the fennel next, and then dot the top with chopped olives and diced preserved lemon. Season with pepper and salt.

Place in the hot oven and turn the heat up an extra 10°C so the pastry really starts to cook. When the pastry is puffed and golden brown on the edges and underside (should take about 20 minutes, but this will depend on your oven) remove the tart from the oven. Scatter over the parsley leaves and cut into generous wedges to serve.

Serves 6 as a meal with salad