I made this tart some time ago now but have only just gotten round to posting it; I say tart, but quiche may be a more accurate name given that it has an egg filling. Opinions seem to be vague and varied on the exact definition of each; a quiche must have an egg filling, a tart can have an egg filling but doesn’t have to seems to be the bottom line. Either way and whatever you want to call it, this tart/quiche is absolutely delicious and incredibly beautiful….
Beetroot is such a versatile vegetable and is also incredibly good for you, not to mention it’s beautiful, intense colour. Despite the fact that it is one of my favourite vegetables, I don’t think that I have a single recipe using it on the blog! (Until now). That’s a shame because there are so many brilliant ways to use it, from soup to chocolate cake; I will make sure that I remember to post more recipes using beetroot from now on….
So apparently this week is #NationalPieWeek (or #BritishPieWeek, I don’t know which is the official one); there are so many national food days/weeks that I rarely know that they are happening until it’s too late and I’m not particularly interested in them anyway (except pancake day – that’s different), but it had been a very long time since I last made a pie so I took it as an excuse to bake one….
Spinach, ricotta and feta quiche – Crisp parmesan shortcrust pastry filled with spinach, ricotta and feta cheese; all the flavours of spanakopita in a tart.
One of the ingredients that I always make sure my freezer is stocked with is frozen spinach; I even prefer it to fresh spinach as the fresh stuff cooks down so much that you have to buy a vast quantity of it to end up with barely any once cooked. …
We have had some truly glorious weather recently (interspersed between some very wet and miserable days…); as I write this I am overlooking our back garden, which is beautifully warm and sunny, aaand horrifically overgrown…all the plants have had a sudden growth spurt and it is getting towards the point where even the dog can’t venture out any further than the patio due to the height of the weeds (he is only small). It needs some serious work doing to it; not just weeding, but leveling, digging out a couple of trees, extending the patio, laying a path, building vegetable beds, mending the fences etc. etc. I thought about starting work on it the other day, but I just couldn’t face it so baked this tropical fruit coconut tart instead which was a much more satisfying use of my time….
Christmas is only a few days away now and I’m still not feeling festive…this is due in part to the fact that we don’t have a Christmas tree or any decorations up this year; we are in the process of renovating our house so it’s in a bit of a state and there was nowhere to put the tree. I intend to make up for it next year when the house is finished by going overboard with the decorations… I’m sure I will be in the Christmas spirit come Christmas day, which we are spending with a group of friends, and then Boxing Day will be spent with family. I am on dessert duty for both occasions (what a surprise!) and am planning on making chilled desserts that I can prepare the day beforehand as I wont be in my kitchen to bake anything on the day. So I wont be making this apple and mincemeat filo wreath as it needs to be eaten fresh from the oven (although I am partial to a slice of it cold, the following morning for breakfast). …
Galettes, also known as free-form pies or crostata, have to be just about one of the easiest things to make, it is in their nature to be rustic, so there’s no need to worry about trying to make it look neat and pretty; when it comes to a galette it is all about the flavour. They lend themselves well to pretty much any kind of fruit, so are the kind of thing that can be baked all year round; but are particularly good in Summer when there is an abundance of stone fruits and fresh berries. I opted to use nectarines, though peaches or plums would work just as well; and I couldn’t resist adding a bit of marzipan to the topping as almonds pair so well with stone fruits. I like to use cornmeal pastry for my galette crusts, as it adds a nice bit of extra crunch and deals better with the juice from the fruit. A perfectly crisp, golden crust, filled with juicy, sweet nectarines topped with marzipan crumble – heavenly….
We were visiting some friends over the weekend and I was charged with bringing dessert (what a surprise!); despite the fact that I was already taking the remnants of two cakes with us (carrot and cookie dough brownie), I couldn’t resist making something else to take…(I’m good at overkill…). I figured that two cakes was probably enough cake (just…!) so for my third dessert I went with a tart. …
For the March Daring bakers’ challenge, Korena from Korena in the Kitchen taught us that some treats are best enjoyed upside down. She challenged us to make a tarte tatin from scratch.
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I like the idea of winter, but am less than enamored with the reality. I like the idea of going for a dog walk on a crisp, frosty winter morning, until I get outside and my fingers go numb, my nose starts streaming and it hurts to breathe…I like the idea of snow (and do enjoy it for about an hour) but then it gets trodden into brown slush and the pavements turn into sheets of ice.
The one instance in which the reality is as satisfying as the idea when it comes to winter, is the food and drink – mulled wine, gingerbread, stollen, mince pies, eggnog, christmas pudding, panettone, yule logs, crumble, christmas cake…and pies. There is something inherently comforting about wrapping food in pastry on a cold, miserable day….
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