Recipes for July 2022

TRIPLE TOMATO TART – Serves 6

250g. / 9ozs, ready made puff pastry (all butter is best)
3 tbsps. sun dried tomato puree, or ordinary tomato puree
250g. / 9 ozs. ripe vine tomatoes, sliced
150g. / 5 1/2 ozs. cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 egg yolk
125g. / 4 1/2 ozs. Italian sliced salami, chopped
salt and pepper
handful thyme sprigs

  1. Preheat the oven to 190C / 375F / Gas Mark 5.  Roll out the pastry to form a rectangle 36cm. / 14 inches long and 25cm. / 10 inches wide and lift on to a heavy duty baking tray.
  2. Spread the tomato puree over the pastry, leaving a 3cm. / 1 1/4 inch margin around the edge.  Arrange the vine tomato slices over the tomato puree, scatter over the cherry tomato halves, top with the rosemary and drizzle with 1 tbsp. olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.  Brush the edges of the pastry with egg yolk and bake for 10 minutes.  Scatter over the salami and bake for a further 10 – 15 minutes.   
  3. Remove the tart from the oven and season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with the remaining oil and scatter over the thyme.

TIPS

You could make this into a vegetarian version by leaving out the salami and instead using feta or goat’s cheese.  Another alternative is roasted peppers and pine kernels instead of the salami.

Some sun dried tomatoes, cut into strips,  could be added at the same time as the salami.

A LEMONY HAZELNUT AND BLUEBERRY CAKE – Serves 8 – 10

115g. hazelnuts
260g. unsalted butter, really soft
225g. white spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
130g. honey (or golden caster sugar)
130g. maple syrup
finely grated zest of 1 large unwaxed lemon

For the filling:

350mls. double cream
2 – 3 tbsps. honey
2 – 3 tbsps. blueberry jam
200g. fresh blueberries

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C.  Grease and line 2 x 20cm. loose-bottomed sandwich tins.
  2. Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 5 – 7 minutes but check after 5.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool then whizz in a food processor into fine meal.
  3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and beat in all the other ingredients using an electric handmixer.  Be careful not to overmix.  Scrape the mixture into the tins and level the tops with the back of a spoon.  Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until the cakes are risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tins and placing on a wire rack.
  4. When cool, lightly whip the cream until soft peaks form, drizzle in the honey and whisk again.  Take one spoonful of jam at a time and carefully marble it through the cream.  Carefully place one cake on a cake plate, spoon over two thirds of the marbled honey cream and place the second cake on top.  Spread the remaining third of the honey cream on top of the 2nd cake, then sprinkle the fresh blueberries over the cream.

TIPS

You could use ground almonds instead of toasting hazelnuts and whizzing them in your food processor.

If you want to cut down on the cream content, I would use half the amount and just put it in the centre.  I would then lightly poach the blueberries and put those on the top.  You could use 1 tbsp. of jam for the centre filling and spread 1 tbsp. of jam on top which would help to anchor the blueberries.

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