Leek Tart

Every now and then I like to cook or bake something which does not contain meat. I am not a vegetarian, but I have never felt that I HAVE to eat meals which always contain meat. In truth, I love most vegetables and I am particularly drawn to dishes that celebrate the wonderful qualities and tastes of individual vegetables.

I think that leeks are an underused vegetable and too often people only consume them as an ingredient coupled with potatoes in a soup. Although I love a good leek and potato soup or the classic chilled Vichyssoise, I believe that leeks have so much more to offer and a far more adaptable than many people think. With their mild, subtle onion flavour they have a sophisticated taste which is fabulous.

 

Leeks pair together so well with cheese, eggs, cream and other dairy products and this is a combination that I love to exploit and experiment with! Leek gratins, made with your favourite cheese of choice are particularly good - I especially like to use a mild blue cheese such as Cashel Blue which is delicious. Dishes like these can be used as accompaniments but if served with some crusty bread can form the basis of a meal in their own right.

 

With the above point in mind, and given leeks’ natural affinity with cheese, eggs and cream, I decided to make a tart that included all these ingredients. This would be a great dish luncheon dish served with a lightly dressed, fresh, leafy-green salad.
 

Make sure to taste the filling as you go along, seasoning generously, because the tart really does need it and it will make all the difference to the finished dish. I added a generous spoonful of wholegrain mustard at the last moment because I felt that it needed “something else”. I am delighted that I did, because the slight piquancy of the mustard really accentuated the sweetness of the leeks. This is a lovely tart and whilst there are a few steps involved, the labour is worth it.
 

Ingredients:

Pastry:
200g plain flour

100g cold butter, diced

1 egg yolk

1-2 tblsp water

Filling:

50g butter

500g leeks, sliced lengthways and then chopped into ½ cm pieces

1 onion cut in half and then sliced

½ tblsp plain flour

250ml milk

150ml double cream

1 large egg

3 large egg yolks

75g Gruyere cheese, grated

1 tblsp wholegrain mustard
 

Method:

Pastry:
1. Place the flour into a large mixing bowl and then tip in the diced butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolk and water. Use a fork to bring the mixture together and form into a ball before wrapping in cling film and chilling in the fridge for at least half an hour.
To make the filling:

2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Add the sliced leeks and onions and cook over low heat for about half an hour, stirring regularly. Season to taste. After half an hour or so and once the leeks and onions have softened, but not coloured sprinkle in the flour and stir. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes, stirring continually.

3. Gradually stir in the milk and cream and once the mixture is smooth, cook gently for a further 10 to 15 minutes to cook out the flour. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool. Make sure to season well.

4. When cooled stir in the egg and egg yolks, followed by the cheese and wholegrain mustard.

To finish:

5. Preheat the oven to 190C/Fan Oven 170C/Gas Mark 5.

6. Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface and gently lay 23cm loose bottomed tart tin. Line the pastry with baking parchment and then fill with baking beans. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, removing the parchment and baking beans for the final 5-10 minutes of baking. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

7. Reduce the oven temperature to 170C/Fan Oven 150C/Gas Mark 3.

8. Pour the filling into the baked tart case and smooth the surface. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes until the tart has set and is a golden colour. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 8-10.

Rice Pudding Tart

I am delighted with how this tart turned out as it was born out of a desire not to let some leftover homemade rice pudding go to waste and be thrown out.

I regularly make homemade rice pudding as it just represents the ultimate in comfort food to me; it is warm, sweet and creamy and because it is so delicious I always want just another “little spoonful” even though I have usually eaten loads of it already! I made rice pudding the other day and despite my best attempts, was unable to eat it all, so I covered it and put it into the fridge. At the best of times, I like chilled rice pudding, but this time I decided to experiment a little.

It occurred to me that the basic creamy rice-pudding that I make would make a wonderful tart if enriched with some egg yolks. So I made some sweet shortcrust pastry, and blind-baked a tart shell. When cool, I spread some raspberry jam in a thin layer on the bottom of the tart and then covered it with the rice pudding mixture before popping it into a moderate oven to bake for about half an hour. It really was quite simple and resulted in an elegant looking tart which, most importantly, tasted fabulous!
 
Some of the tastiest dishes happen almost by accident without any great planning and they result in the creation of something beyond your expectations. This was the case with this tart and I will admit that I was completely chuffed with how it turned out. I predict that, in future, I will deliberately cook too much rice pudding, just so that I have the opportunity to make this tart again.

 

The rice pudding and the sweet shortcrust pastry were made using the recipes that I have previously posted.

 

Ingredients:

1 x 20cm round sweet shortcrust pastry tart shell, blind-baked (leave in its baking tin)
500g leftover cold rice-pudding

3 egg yolks

2 generous tblsp of raspberry jam

A little icing sugar to dust over the top of the finished tart
 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan Oven 140/Gas Mark 2.
2. Spread the raspberry jam in a thin layer on the bottom of the blind-baked tart case. Mix the egg yolks thoroughly into the rice-pudding and pour this evenly on top of the raspberry jam.
3. Place the tart tin on a baking tray and bake in the pre-heated oven until the rice pudding is just set and the top of the tart is a pale golden colour.

4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

5. Serve dusted with a little icing sugar.

Serves 6-8. 

    

Raspberry & Hazelnut Meringue Cake

There are certain flavour combinations that are just meant to be. One of my favourite is that of raspberries with hazelnuts – add in some softly whipped cream and something delicious is created.

 

Raspberries can be extraordinarily expensive to buy and on one level this is understandable. As a soft fruit, they spoil easily and have a relatively short supermarket shelf-life. Added to this, they have to be carefully hand-picked and packed so that the fruit is not damaged. I resent paying exorbitant prices for raspberries, but I find the taste of them so difficult to resist, so from time-to-time will purchase them.

 

If you are lucky enough to have the space to grow your own raspberries, I urge you to do so. Both summer-fruiting and autumn-fruiting varieties can be grown and in my experience they are a fairly undemanding plant to grow. Given favourable growing conditions and a little care and attention, you will be rewarded with a large harvest of juicy berries which can be used in numerous ways.

 

In making the meringue, which forms the basis of this dessert cake, the usual rules apply; make sure that your bowl and other implements are spotlessly clean and that not a trace of egg yolk gets in to your egg whites when you are separating them. If any yolk gets into the whites, they just will not whip up into the soft peaks that are required for this recipe and you will have to start anew with fresh egg whites! Other than this one critical aspect of the recipe, everything else is fairly plain sailing and it is easy to prepare.

 

I have used hazelnuts, because they go so well with raspberries, but you could experiment with other ground nuts. Almonds also work very well, but experiment using other nuts if you feel so inclined. Some melted dark chocolate drizzled over the top would not go astray but I actually like the simplicity of it without added chocolate.

 

Ingredients:

120g ground toasted hazelnuts
4 large egg whites

225g caster sugar

2 tsp white wine vinegar

To serve:

1 punnet of fresh raspberries (about 150g)

250ml carton single cream
 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4.  Base-line two 20cm sandwich tine with non-stick baking parchment and grease the inside edges of the tins with flavourless vegetable oil. Set aside.

2. Whisk the egg whites in a scrupulously clean bowl until they form stiff peaks. Gradually add the caster sugar whisking all the time, until the sugar has been fully incorporated and the mixture is stiff and glossy. Mix through the vinegar and then fold in the nuts. Divide the mixture evenly between the two sandwich tins sand level the surface. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 35 minutes or until the meringue is firm to the touch. Switch off the oven and allow the meringues to cool completely in the oven. When cold, remove from the tins and peel off the baking parchment.

To finish:

3. Whisk the cream until it just softly holds it shape. Spread 2/3 of the cream on the top of one of the meringues and evenly scatter over half of the raspberries. Gently place the other meringue on top. Using a disposable piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle, pipe the rest of the cream on the top of the uppermost meringue and decorate with the remaining raspberries

Serves 6.     

Plum Tart

Plums are an underused fruit in my opinion and one that when baked and used in cooked dishes is truly delicious. This is really simple to prepare and like most of the recipes I gravitate towards and prefer to develop, speedy to make.

I prefer to eat it warm with a dollop of clotted cream or some ice-cream slowly melting as it hits the warmth of the tart, but it can be served cool. The base of the tart has an almost biscuit-y like texture but is not as short as pastry tends to be.  Because of this, I find that this tart is also delicious served with warm pouring custard and this is particularly welcoming when the weather is cold and wintry.

Almonds have a natural affinity with most stone fruits, so I have added a little to the sponge to give a subtle almond taste. To create slightly more cake like and moister crust you could substitute 50g of the self-raising flour for 50g of ground almonds…but it is up to you. I have previously experimented with the basic recipe using chopped hazelnuts sprinkled on the top and ground hazelnuts in the base. It was also delicious and there was something quite autumnal with this flavour combination.

The French really embrace the use of plums in their cooking, but we Irish tend to always resort to using apples as our fruit of choice when making tarts, pies and other fruit dishes. This really is a shame, because when baked, the rich fruitiness of plums is released and accentuated.

Other stone fruits such as peaches, nectarines or even greengages (technically a variety of plum) can be used in this recipe, but I favour the use of plums because I find their taste more complex and interesting.

Ingredients:

115g butter, softened
115g caster sugar
1 large egg

225g self-raising flour, sifted

1tblsp Amaretto

Topping:

3-4 plums, halved and stoned

6-8 blanched whole almonds

25g Demerara sugar

To glaze:

2tblsp apricot jam

1tblsp water

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Grease a shallow baking dish (30cm x 20cm approximately) with a little butter and set aside.
Using a hand-held electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again to fully incorporate.
2. Add the self-raising flour and beat in using a wooden spoon before adding the Amaretto and mixing in.

3. Press this mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, smoothing out with the back of a metal spoon if necessary.

4. Press the halved plums, cut side upwards on the dough and place a single blanched almond in the centre cavity of each plum. Sprinkle the Demerara sugar evenly over the surface. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the plums are cooked and the sponge is well risen and golden-brown.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

To finish:

6. Place the apricot jam and water in a small saucepan and heat until just boiling. Remove from the heat and sieve into a small bowl to remove any lumps. Brush the sieved apricot jam mixture over the warm plum tart and serve immediately with some clotted cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Serves 4-6.     

Lemon Clotted Cream Cake

I am a complete sucker for lemon cakes and whenever I chance upon new recipes or variations on the theme, I feel compelled to try them out. I love lemon cakes and desserts and when made well, that perfect balance between the sweetness of the cake or dessert and the bitterness of the lemons is hard to beat.

Although I adore lemon meringue pie, tarte au citron and other lemon desserts, I especially love a well-made lemon cake. I actually prefer slightly austere lemon cakes and have a particular fondness for loaf versions, which tend to keep very well. At most I like them decorated with a simple lemon flavoured sugar glaze, gently drizzled over the top of the cake - with lemon cake, I feel that less is often more so I try not to overcomplicate them!

I have a couple of fail-safe recipes which I have been baking for years and which satisfy my quite demanding requirements regarding what the perfect lemon cake should be but I am always eager to try out anything slightly different.

The recipe that I give here is a slight variation on one that was recently included in the UK edition of Delicious magazine. From the start the recipe intrigued me as it did not contain any butter – given my passion for butter, I would normally consider this a travesty, but my concerns were somewhat allayed by the fact that it contained a generous amount of clotted cream instead.

Clotted cream can be hard to acquire in Irish supermarkets, but if you seek it out, it can be bought. Glenilen Farm, based in Drimoleague, County Cork produce, amongst a range of other dairy products, a particularly addictive tasting clotted cream and this is the one that I used for this cake. At 60% fat content, it is richly creamy and the perfect accompaniment to freshly baked scones smeared with homemade strawberry or raspberry jam as part of a traditional afternoon tea. I think it is a great product and one that I would strongly recommend, especially if it is used to bake this wonderful cake.

If you like lemon cakes and you also like simple, pure tasting cakes, you really must try baking this one – it is absolutely delicious and one that I know I will definitely make again and again.

Ingredients:

225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

225g clotted cream

215g self-raising flour, sifted

2tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, from the zested lemons (keep the rest of the juice)

To finish:

Juice of the zested lemons (see above)

45g granulated sugar plus extra for sprinkling
 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment and set aside.
2. Using a hand-held electric mixer, cream the sugar, eggs and lemon zest together until light and creamy and almost doubled in volume – this will take about 5 minutes.
3. Add the clotted cream and gently beat in to the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Add the sifted flour and fold in gently. Add the lemon juice and mix through.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes approximately until the cake is well risen and golden brown. Check the cake after 35 minutes or so and cover with tin foil if it is browning too quickly.

5. Remove from the oven when baked and allow cool in the tin for 5 minutes while you make the lemon syrup.

Lemon syrup:

6. Heat the lemon juice in a small saucepan until just boiling and remove from the heat. Stir in the granulated sugar.

To finish:

7. Using a thin skewer, prick the cake all over. Pour over half of the lemon syrup and set the cake aside to cool completely.

8. Remove the cake from the tin and also remove the baking parchment. Gently turn the cake over and prick the underside with the skewer. Pour over the remainder of the syrup and allow soak in to the cake.

9. Sprinkle to top f the cake with a little granulated sugar before serving.

Serves 8-10.