Tart with a heart

I had to cook something this week to take to a work morning tea, and given my general aversion to sweet things I decided to bake something savoury. I pretty much used what I had on hand and just grabbed some pre rolled shortcrust pastry from the store on the way home to create a savoury, "sort of middle eastern" style tart. I had some pistachio and pine nuts that were due to be used too, so I incorporated them to make a lovely nutty crust. The tart proved to be popular with my colleagues, so it all worked well. This dish would be a great picnic dish and can be made a day ahead. It is rustic and boldly flavoured - not a delicate little quiche but something vivid and gutsy.

This tart uses a spice that some of you may not be overly familiar with - Sumac is a spice used extensively in middle eastern cuisines. It comes in the form of vivid red/burgandy berries that are ground and the outer skin removed and has a unique, sweet, lemony, tangy flavour. I love the fresh zingy taste it brings to grilled meat, dressings and pies. Good quality ground sumac should be deep red to burgandy in colour. It is now reasonably easy to source - I think even some of the bigger supermarkets are stocking it these days, but of course any middle eastern deli will have it for sure. If you have never tried it, give it a go - it is a great addition to your spice cupboard.

And now, to the dish itself.......

Pumpkin, pinenut and pistachio tart with sumac

You will need: 1 large sheet pre rolled shortcrust pastry, 5 eggs, 2 tablespoons milk, 2 cups diced cooked pumpkin, 2 large onions, 1 cup sliced mushrooms, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, 1 tabspoon pine nuts, 1 tablespoon pistachio nuts, 200g crumbled fetta cheese, 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese, 1 heaped teaspoon sumac, 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes, splash of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Method: Line a 30cm quiche dish with baking paper. Press in the rolled pastry into the dish, trim any rough edges and then lay another sheet of baking paper over the top. Tip in a pile of baking weights (you can get these from cookware stores) or improvise and use dry rice or beans to weigh the paper down. Bake blind for 15 minutes, until the base is cooked through. You want it to be firm so that you don't end up with a soggy base, once the filling is in. Once the base is cooked, remove the baking paper and set the tart aside.

While the base is cooking, Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan. Add the sliced onions and sautee them for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, chilli and sumac and cook for another 5 minutes. Now add the cooked pumpkin and stir it through.

Beat the eggs, milk and plenty of salt and pepper together. Set aside.

Crumble half of the fetta and cheddar over the base of the tart, then tip in the filling ingredients. Top with the remaining cheeses, pine nuts and pistachios. Pour the egg mixture into the base and then top with the fresh chives.

Bake in a moderate oven until lightly golden on top and the egg mixture is just set. This will take around 25 minutes. Allow the tart to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into it. Serve warm or cold.

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Cheeky Tart!!!

"The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer's day;

The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away"

Ok, so I'm not the Queen of Hearts and it isn't a summer's day (in fact it's bloody freezing!) but I have been baking tarts today. I headed into the kitchen this morning to make something to take to work for lunch this week and whilst I was waiting for that to cook, I decided to bake some tarts to use up some spare puff pastry that was taking up space in my freezer. I really didn't fancy the thought of leaving the house to go food shopping, so I hunted around in the pantry for inspiration, determined that there must be some kind of filling I had ingredients for. Well, turns out that I found a little more inspiration than I bargained for, and the result was six different kinds of tarts (although they all start with the same basic beginnings)

I was going for a rustic, free form style with these tarts - no pie tins or cutting out baking paper or blind baking or any of that kind of carry on! I love that every one is different and that they aren't perfect. You could eat them like a pastry with a cup of tea, or serve them as a dessert, warm with a dusting of icing sugar and some cream or a good quality icecream.

My six fillings were: almond and walnut , strawberry, fig, orange, apple and mixed berries. All I did was to place the various ingredients on the top of the tarts. None of the toppings were pre cooked. The figs and oranges are the glace kind (these came from the wonderful Pomona Fruits - best glace fruit ever! http://www.pomonafruits.com.au/ ) The apple and the strawberries were just sliced thinly raw, and the berries were just a handful of the frozen kind I had in the freezer. I sprinkled a little bit of castor sugar on the berries and the strawberries before putting them in the oven and when the tarts were cooked I brushed them all with maple syrup when they were still warm to give them a glaze.

I have given the basic tart recipe below, but go with any topping you fancy - I came up with six just based on what I had in the pantry today - the possibilities are endless. The filling is a simple almond based one that isn't overly sweet.

And here is today's tart selection - my recipe makes 16 tarts

You will need: 4 sheets puff pastry, 200g almond meal, 1 egg, 1/2 cup cater sugar, 100g butter, 1/3 cup maple syrup and whatever topping/s you have chosen.

Method: Melt the butter and combine with the almond meal, sugar and the egg. Set this aside. Cut the pastry into 4 rounds for each sheet (this will make 16 tarts) I used a small upturned rice bowl as a cutting guide.

Spoon the almond mixture onto the pastry and spread it out so it almost comes to the edge. Add your chosen topping. Fold/pinch the edges of the tarts the whole way around. Chill the tarts in the fridge for 15mins.

Bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 mins or until puffed and golden brown. When you take them out of the oven, brush them with maple syrup to form a light glaze.

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