:: Eating Fresh ::

Summer Vegetable & Goats Cheese Tart

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

:: my favourite - a Summer Vegetable & Goats Cheese Tart ::

There is something magnificent about a golden homemade tart fresh out of the oven. It sings a change in seasons from the cold & wintery months to the beaming freshness that Spring & Summer carry to the kitchen. I also love how a tart like this one is so versatile in its guises – from an elegant vegetarian creation to a manly “egg & bacon pie”, it is really up to your imagination!

This Summer vegetable tart has become one of my favourite dishes to make for a light lunch or savoury snack when special guests come around. I was making it with the basic vegetable egg mixture, but once I had found that my local Growers Market stocked seasonal zucchini flowers & goats cheese at an affordable price, I couldn’t help but add these beautiful & edible enchantments to my tart.

to start

1 quantity of Shortcrust Parmesan Pastry (see link)

to fill

300 ml cream

4 large eggs

pinch of both sea salt & cracked pepper

1 medium zucchini (courgette), grated

1 medium carrot, grated

1 French shallot onion, halved & sliced lengthways

½ cup vintage cheese or cheddar, grated

4-6 zucchini flowers (optional) – stamens removed

80-100 grams goats cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 24 cm round or 35 cm x 13 cm loose-bottomed tart pan with pastry following the Savoury Parmesan Pastry instructions, then bake blind at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes. Remove pastry weights & parchment paper then bake for another 5 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove.

Whilst your pastry is blind baking, prepare your filling. Lightly whisk together the cream & eggs, then season with the salt & pepper. Add the grated zucchini (courgette), carrot, hard cheese & sliced onion. Stir gently to combine. Spoon the mixture into the blind-baked pastry case. Gently place your desired quantity of zucchini flowers at an angle, tenderly opening up the flowers & pushing in some golden filling. Lightly crumble the goats cheese over the top of the tart, allowing it to fall into the spaces of the zucchini flowers.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden on top & set all the way through. Allow to cool until the tart is just warm or at room temperature.

:: your filling options are endless ::

Kitchen Notes

:: The best thing about this tart, is that it is very flexible with its ingredients. Don’t have zucchini flowers? Leave them out or place asparagus on top instead. No goats cheese? No problem, it tastes delicious anyway. No French onions? I gently panfry half a brown onion until sweet & tender, then add this to the mixture.

:: An impressive way to serve this tart for a morning/afternoon tea is to sprinkle a punnet of washed micro herbs over the top – wow!

:: made very simple in the KitchenAid food processor ::

Quick Kitchen

:: For speed, I grate my zucchini (courgette), & carrot in the food processor, but you can also use a simple box grater.

:: No time to make your own pastry? Keep some prepared pastry in your freezer, such as Careme’s Sour Cream Shortcrust Pastry or a Pampas Shortcrust Pastry (not the low fat option).

Little Larder

:: With any leftover mixture & pastry, I add some ham & to the basic egg mixture and make baby quiches in a muffin tin, which both my son & husband adore. They also freeze well for lunchbox or picnic treats.

:: a golden tart with golden zucchini flowers ::

:: this is the perfect summer meal for the ones you love ::

Enjoy this tart as much as we do here in Megann's Kitchen! 

:: I found my Thrill ::

Blueberry & Almond Tart

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

:: beautiful blueberry & almond tart with fresh berries & creme fraiche ::

Whenever I am homesick I seem to crave recipes made with blueberries. You see, I grew up with an amazing blueberry patch on our family farm & it was like a sanctuary for me. Whenever I wanted, I would roam aimlessly through the rows upon rows of blueberries. I would lie under the branches, looking up at the sky & let my imagination take over. I would even play there with friends, having blueberry fights – squishing the berries to feel them ooze between our fingers before pelting the mess at an unsuspecting victim. Yes, these were incredibly wholesome blueberry memories of my childhood filled with pure joy.

I have now made this tart many times. The frangipane cream can be a vehicle for any fruit of the season – but in season or not, a blueberry filling is my ultimate favourite.

to start

1 quantity of sweet shortcrust pastry

basic frangipane cream (GF)

125g good quality unsalted butter, softened

150g castor sugar

1 tsp of vanilla bean paste or seeds of 1 vanilla bean

2 large eggs

200g almond meal

fruit

250g blueberries (2 punnets)

:: gently smooth over the top & sprinkle with blueberries ::

:: bake until evenly golden brown & cooked through ::

Preheat oven to180°C (350°F). Line a 24 cm loose-bottomed tart pan with pastry following the Sweet Shortcrust Pastry instructions, then bake blind at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes. Remove pastry weights & parchment paper then bake for another 5 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove.

While the pastry is blind baking, place butter, sugar & vanilla in an electric mixer (I use my ever trusty KitchenAid) & beat until butter mixture is light & creamy. Add eggs one at a time & make sure they are fully incorporated before you add the next. Finish by adding the almond meal & mix through.

Sprinkle half of the blueberries on the pastry base. Spoon the thick Frangipane Cream evenly over the top of the berries, smoothing out the top when finished. Scatter the remainder of the blueberries over the top of the almond mixture, pushing slightly into the batter.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until it has turned a golden brown on top. Cool in tin for at least 30 minutes before serving

:: serve on a breadboard for a rustic & homestyle feel ::

:: this recipe can be made with any sweet fruit - this is a cherry tart ::

Kitchen Notes

:: The Frangipane cream is quite thick, so be mindful of placing it where you want it, then smooth over the top.

:: A way to test if the almond Frangipane Mixture is cooked through is to simply press on the top when it looks golden. If it feels firm and springs back, then it is ready. If your finger leaves an indentation & breaks the surface, pop it back in the oven for another 5 minutes & check again.

:: All is not lost if not cooked through. I accidently did this once & quickly placed it back in the oven for another 10 minutes & it was beautiful! The pastry was a little crunchier than normal, but still a kitchen win in my eyes.

:: No blueberries? Try raspberries, cherries, blackberries, figs brushed with honey, fresh sliced peaches, halved apricots, poached pears… just use your imagination!

:: The Frangipane Cream is a Gluten Free mixture, so omit the pastry for a Gluten Free option.

:: finely diced/cubed fruit with micro herbs & edible garden flowers ::

Style & Serve

:: Dust with icing sugar & a dollop of double or triple thickened cream.

:: To impress, I love finely diced strawberries & baby herbs scattered on the side. If using crème fraîche, I also add a fine drizzle of honey to counteract the sourness of the dairy.

:: elegant accents  with a drizzle of honey ::

Quick Kitchen

:: Have no time to make your own pastry? Never fear. You can either prepare it the day before & let it chill in the fridge overnight then continue with the baking process or

:: Use a good quality pastry base, such as Carème Vanilla Bean Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (see selected outlets) or frozen Pampas Shortcrust Pastry (never, ever use low fat options in pastry – it turns out hard & tasteless).

Enjoy!

:: Lemon Divine ::

The best ever Lemon Tart

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

:: the best ever lemon tart ::

Ahhh, Melbourne. The food love of my life. If there was one thing I used to love about working in the cafe scene was the sensation of ordering a sweet lemon tart to accompany my always perfect latte. CafeSegovia in Melbourne's Block Arcade would have to be where my obsession started. The small, yet busy cafe, was not only a source of income for me during some penny pinching years whilst studying, but owners also dutifully fed me with generous staff meals & treats. I have to admit, I wasn’t the greatest waitress in the world, but working there was some of the happiest times I can remember. It was a carefree environment full of laughter where simply working the Friday Jazz nights or hearing the newly released Santana’s ‘Smooth’ (yes, it was summer of '99 if I recall!) over & over on the stereo would fill me with joy.

:: pouring the mixture into the blind baked pastry ::

I came across this divine, yet relatively easy, recipe in Stephanie Alexander’s Cooks Companion once when I had too many lemons & I knew instantly it was the one which would transport me back to one of my favourite places of employment. The luxuriously smooth lemony curd is ideal for a hot Summers day dessert to cut through the empowerment of any meal & to finish it off with perfection. Not to mention the lively green mint with the golden lemon looks very Australian for Australia Day on the 26^th January!

Pastry - check... lemons - check... other fridge/pantry items - check.... 
now let's go!

1 quantity sweet shortcrust pastry

3 large lemons

6 eggs

250g caster sugar

200 ml cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or seeds of 1 vanilla bean

pure icing (confectioner's) sugar to dust

Line a 24 cm loose-bottomed tart pan with pastry, then bake blind at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes. Remove pastry weights & parchment paper then bake for another 5 minutes, until just cooked through. Reset your oven to 160°C (320°F).

:: preparing the mixture ::

Zest and juice the 3 lemons. Combine eggs & sugar until well combined, then add the zest & lemon juice & stir. Add cream & vanilla seeds/paste & mix well using a whisk. Pour into just-baked pastry case and bake for 35-45 minutes until almost set & just turning a golden blonde on top. Cool in tin for at least 30 minutes before serving however, as it's a custard base, it's ideal chilled in the fridge for at least an additional 30 minutes to allow it to fully set. Serve dusted with icing sugar and with thick cream.

Serve

:: I like to serve my lemon tart with double thickened cream & a light dusting of icing sugar.

:: adding a festive touch ::

Style

:: I couldn’t help myself this festive season when I made this recipe- I cut out some white chocolate stars & piped some of the remainder melted white chocolate over a slice to present. To garnish I used some baby mint leaves to accentuate colour & freshness.

:: lemon fresh ::

Kitchen Notes

:: Short of time & don’t want to make your own pastry? For a home-made result I highly recommend the amazingly gourmet Carême VanillaBean Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (located in speciality food stores, such as Essential Ingredient) - or Pampas Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (located in Supermarkets). This pastry is incredible... hand-made in their kitchens just for you.

:: As it is a loose bottom tin, I like to place it on a tray to remove & place back in the oven with ease. This way there is no chance of you accidentally breaking the crust of your pastry by putting your hand through the base!

:: Remember that the lemon filling will continue to set upon cooling.

Update
:: Today I made it with rather sweet lemons & found 250g of caster sugar to be too much - you can easily adjust the sweetness of your tart by simply adding less sugar - approximately 200g of caster sugar (give or take) in this circumstance. 
:: I place any leftover lemony egg mixture into oven safe dishes (try tea cups) with some rasberries sprinkled on top & bake for 25-30 minutes as a chefs/toddlers treat! Yummy.

:: freshly baked easy lemon tart ::

Dedicated to Owen Brokensha

:: Sharing fond memories of my life-long friend: he used to come & visit me on my break at Cafe Segovia for a coffee, dessert & a little gossip. It was tremendous working so close by each other!

From Stephanie Alexander, The Cook's Companion, 1996.

I would also love to see your Megann's Kitchen Creations/photos of recipes that you have made on Megann’s Kitchen Facebook!