 |
| Midwinter's tart - cavolo nero open filo tart |
I’m probably a little bit late in the game but it would feel wrong not to mark the New Year with a little post. New Year’s Eve was spent with close friends at A.’s grandpa’s cottage. It was lovely being back there after years of memories; from birthday parties as children to camping there as bolshy teenagers. The gamekeeper was there when we arrived, a real character and I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of hearing about the time he shared a mars bar with HRH “Wills” or the time he drank a 2 half pints of vodka not to loose face. People arrived in dribs and drabs, hugs were exchanged and glasses filled and emptied. Cheeses and other goodies were laid out, scoffed with more food miraculously appearing at any hint of a spare space in our bellies. Highlights include Nigella’s Christmas rocky roads and S. and M.’s amazing haggis sausage rolls (recipe to follow soon). We welcomed in the New Year with sweet Asti in glasses with little pheasants on them and sang and hummed our way through Auld Lang Syne. None of us had a clue as to the words to the second verse. As the night went on the party games got started and my competitive nature came out. We laughed and laughed. It was one of those nights where I felt just so happy to have the awesome friends that I have.
 |
| are these not the cutest glasses ever? |
 |
| T. doing the highland fling |
Seeing as it’s now January I guess we are all supposed to be very good and all on diets but personally I can’t think of anything worse than a calorie sanctioned soggy January. This is my toast to enjoying a little bit of the things you like to eat without the guilt. I’m not morbidly obese yet. I’ve called it midwinter’s tart as pretty much all I could see at the farmer's market was cavolo nero and onions, bring on the first of the spring veg. In the meantime i'll make do with a cheeky recipe title.
Midwinter’s tart – inspired by Jamie Oliver
Serves 6 – as a lunch with crusty bread and salad
Preheat the oven to 180°c
1 packet of readymade filo pasty approx 5-6 sheets
30g melted butter
300ml full or low fat crème fraiche
3 egg yolks
2 small onions – quartered, then finely sliced
oil for frying
approx 10 – 12 cavolo nero leaves or kale – finely shredded tough stalky bits and all
3-5 anchovy fillets – roughly chopped
30g grated parmesan
salt and pepper to season
zest of half a lemon
Carefully remove the pastry from the packet and lay in your baking dish leaving a few cm overhanging the edges.
Brush gently with the melted butter and continue to layer up the pasty until you have finished the packet.
Mix the egg yolks with the crème fraiche, season and add this to the pastry.
Fry the onions with a little salt over a medium heat until slightly caramelised; this will take approx 5-8 minutes
Mix the fried onions, cavolo nero, parmesan and anchovy together and add this to the tart.
Brush the edges of the pasty with the melted butter and bake the tart for approx 20 minutes until golden brown.
Grate the lemon zest over the tart and leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy.
 |
| Midwinter's tart - cavolo nero filo tart |
