Well-loved cookbook challenge #1

Quiche or tart - you decide!

As I mentioned in last week’s Friday 5, I was overwhelmed by the response to my recent post on treasured cookbooks which prompted a flood of reminiscences about your favourite authors and books.

So I thought it would be fun to encourage you all to cook something from them, choosing a different theme each month.

Ideally from a book over 10 years old which prompted the thought that we should start with quiche - a dish I’ve made a lot over the years, though less often than I once did for reasons that will become apparent. 

I thought I might try a recipe from Tamasin Day-Lewis’s The Art of the Tart, a book that was mentioned by a number of you and which I vaguely recall once owning but seem to have mislaid. However I found a recipe for a smoked haddock and watercress quiche from the book in one of Nigel Slater’s columns.

It seemed an unusual combination you couldn’t buy in a supermarket so well worth making at home but things didn’t go entirely to plan

Although I had the right sized tin I had some reservations about the amount of pastry which proved justified. It was simply impossible to make it fit, the sides of the tin being higher than the author must have envisaged.

Eventually I gave up and, having invited a friend round to supper to share it, had to go out and buy some shortcrust pastry which of course generally comes in rectangles these days. Anyway I rolled it out a bit more  and managed to produce a passable case which didn’t shrink too much when I baked it blind. 

The quiche was nice though a little bland, I felt. I didn’t get quite enough of the watercress flavour (maybe wilt it beforehand) and I thought it could do with a bit of parmesan in the filling as well as on the top.

Also you don’t need to simmer the smoked haddock for 10 minutes given its going to cook further in the oven. I brought the milk up to the boil, cooked it for 2 minutes then let it rest before flaking it and - importantly - removing any bones. (It’s important to bring your own experience and preferences to recipes you try, don’t you think?)

Anyway the whole experience made me wonder how many of you actually make your own quiche these days. My friend Kate, owner of the much bespattered copy of How to Eat and a more than competent cook, confessed to my amazement she had never made one. And frankly, with life as busy as it is these days, who can blame her? 

You probably need to be making them on a regular basis to be unfazed by the whole blind baking process - unless you have an Aga which makes that unnecessary (which is why I make quiches more in the winter). Rectangular tarts are a much easier option especially with ready rolled puff pastry.

Anyway in the spirit of encouraging you to take part in the challenge here’s a tart from my book Perfect Pairings (first published as Food, Wine & Friends in 2007).

Do let me know what you make either in the comments, Substack notes or on instagram where you can follow me at @food_writer, tagging the #welllovedcookbookchallenge.

And flag up if you come across any unexpected hitches. It’s perfectly legit to change recipes either because you haven’t got exactly the right ingredients, suspect the quantities might be wrong or find it not totally to your taste as I wrote here. We all make mistakes!

The challenge runs till the end of the month - there will be a new one in September. Any suggestions welcome!

As I mentioned I will be in Northern Ireland for the rest of this week so there most likely won’t be a Friday 5 but I’ll send you a postcard!

Roast pepper, tomato and mozzarella tart

I was rather amused that I described the tomatoes as ‘heirloom’ in the original recipe as coloured tomatoes were then comparatively rare. Anyway it’s super-easy - basically a sort of pizza in tart form with the added bonus that the base is lighter and airier and that there are more veg. And with tomatoes and peppers in season now is the perfect time to make it.

Serves 4-6

375g (13oz) ready-rolled puff pastry sheet

1 large or 2 small red peppers

1 large or 2 small yellow peppers

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and flattened

1/2 190g jar of red or sun-dried tomato pesto (about 4 tbsp)

125g (4 1/2 oz) mozzarella ball, drained and thinly sliced

110g (4 oz) red cherry tomatoes, halved

110g (4 oz) yellow tomatoes halved

1/2 tsp dried oregano or marjoram

1 egg, lightly beaten

A little grated parmesan cheese (optional)

A handful of small or torn basil leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

You will need a small roasting tin and a larger rectangular baking tin covered with non-stick baking parchment

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180° fan/400°F/Gas 6. Take the pastry out of the fridge at least 15 minutes before you need to unroll it. 

Quarter the peppers, remove the pith and seeds and cut each quarter into half lengthways. Put them in  a roasting tin with the garlic cloves, pour over 2 tbsp of the oil and toss together. Roast for about 20-25 minutes until the edges of the peppers are beginning to char. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes. 

Turn the oven up to 220°C/200°fan/425°F/Gas 7.

Unroll the pastry and lay on the baking sheet. Using a sharp knife score a line around the pastry about 1.5cm from the edge. Spread the pesto evenly inside the rectangle you’ve marked. Lay the pepper strips across the base of the tart, alternating red and yellow. Lay the mozzarella slices over the peppers and season with black pepper. Arrange the halved tomatoes over the peppers, red on yellow and yellow on red. Season with salt and a little more pepper, sprinkle with the oregano and trickle over the remaining oil together with any oil from the roasting tin.

Brush the edges of the tart with the beaten egg and bake for 12 minutes or so until the pastry edges are well puffed up and beginning to brown. Turn the heat back down again to 200°C/180° fan/400°F/Gas 6 and cook for another 12-15 minutes until the tomatoes are well roasted. Remove the tart from the oven and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes then grate over a little parmesan and top with the basil leaves. Serve warm

You could take this tart more in a more pizza-ly direction by dotting the tart with olives or draping a few anchovies over the top

What to drink with it?

You could go white or red - maybe from Sicily or southern Italy. Something like a Falanghina or Fiano would work or a simple Sicilian red. (For
more tomato pairings see here.)

I’ve kept this post free as I wanted to say a big thankyou to all those of you who contributed to the original discussion. Do feel free to share it. If you’d like access to my other recipes and cooking tips, bargain wine buys and join in my monthly online wine tastings you can sign up for as little as £5. 

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