I love a tart.
Pastry and my tummy don’t get on too well. I’m not coeliac, I just don’t feel great after eating flour. So pastry – although I make it often for clients, has had to change.
I am a low carb convert. I fall off the wagon occasionally but I reckon I’m 90% there with food that makes me feel wonderful inside and out.
The first time I made this tart crust I was so happy. I love it. It’s crisp – and more importantly stays crisp even after filling with a gooey wet centre… Also – you can adapt this for sweet fillings too – just take out the salt.
I love a very lightly set custard tart made with just egg yolks and double cream and a touch of Xylitol to sweeten and topped with a scratch of nutmeg.
First the Pie Crust Recipe.
This perfectly fills a 6 inch tart tin, but if you dont have one, use a loose bottomed or spring formed cake tin, if it’s bigger – double the recipe and stick the rest in the fridge, you WILL make this again.
So easy. preheat oven to 180c
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
2 Tablespoons Water
100g Ground Almonds
1 tablespoon olive oil.
Pinch Salt
Method
- Place the Chia seeds and water in a mixing bowl and leave to soak for 10 mins.
- Pop in the other ingredients and mix well. It will be a little hard to mix so don’t be afraid to get in there with your hands.
- Roll out between parchment or cling film and line the tart tin/cake tin. This will fall apart a bit but you don’t have to worry about over working, just squige it into place with your fingers until you are happy. it needs to come up the sides enough to prevent spillage and make sure there aren’t any little holes anywhere, patch up if you find some. Prick all over the base with a fork.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven, (180C) middle shelf, for 15-20 minutes until golden.(This is brilliant, you don’t need baking beans or any kind of painful blind baking activity.)
- Meanwhile make your filling. This one is a Smoked Salmon and Spinach Tart
Ingredients:
250ml Double Cream
2 whole Eggs and 1 Egg Yolk
70g Smoked Salmon
50g Spinach, Cooked, drained & finely chopped (squeeze out as much water as possible. I use the chopped frozen spinach you can get from supermarkets, you don’t have to cook it, just leave it to defrost and then squeeze out water.)
Salt and pepper (pinch of each.)
20g Parmesan
1. Mix all the ingredients, apart from the parmesan, together really well in a bowl.
2. TURN DOWN THE OVEN to 135˚C. Place your pre-baked pie crust on to a baking sheet, pour 1/2 the mix in the crust, then open the oven door and slide the tart on the baking tray onto a bottom 1/3 shelf of the oven, pulled out slightly, and pour the rest of the filling in. This way avoiding any spillage! Fill as close to the top of the pie crust as you dare. then sprinkle on the parmesan.
3. Slide the shelf all the way in gently – oh so gently. And close the oven door.
Bake for 30 minutes until there is just a slight wobble in the centre of the tart when nudged.
If your oven is too hot, the tart will rise up ‘soufflé’ style. We don’t want that. Check your tart after 20 mins just in case your oven is Vesuvius!
Remove and allow to cool. I think that this tart is better the next day as any left overs that have been refrigerated are just divine – it seems to get even creamier in texture.
Eat with gusto, but first, photograph it and post it all over social media. Oh and please send it to me! Be proud of your achievement! Pies are back.
