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Looking for something to celebrate the impending end of Alert Level 4? Angela Casley has come up with a delicious tart that can easily be adapted to suit the ingredients you have on hand, a fast-food fix packed with fresh flavours and a decadent sweet treat.
Wholemeal pear, blue cheese and rocket tart
There is such a great set of flavours in this tart — pears, blue cheese and walnuts. If you don’t have wholemeal flour (or any flour!), you could either make this as a frittata with no pastry, or use store-bought.
Plain flour is another option if that’s all you have. Feta, goat cheese or even cheddar would all be delicious substitutes for the blue cheese.
Toasting the walnuts fresh makes all the difference before adding them to the salad that sits on top of the tart.
Serves 6
Pastry
1½ cups wholemeal flour
½tsp salt
100g butter, cubed
1 egg
2 Tbsp water
Filling
2 cups rocket
3 eggs
½ cup sour cream
100g blue cheese
1 pear, cored and sliced
Salad
2 cups rocket
1 pear, cored and sliced
½ cup toasted walnuts
50g crumbled blue cheese
a drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon
Method
1. Heat an oven to 180degC.
2. Place the flour and salt in a kitchen processor. Add the butter, blitzing until fine breadcrumbs form. Add the egg and water, blitzing to make the dough. Roll on a lightly floured bench and press into a 23cm tin. Bake blind for 15 minutes.
3. Roughly chop the rocket and place in a bowl with the eggs, sour cream and crumbled blue cheese, combining well. Pour into the pastry case. Place the sliced pear on the top, pressing it in just a little. Bake for 35 minutes until just set. Remove and cool.
4. To make the salad, combine the ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle with a little oil and lemon juice. Serve on the tart.
Fish burger with avocado and edamame smash
Who doesn’t love a good burger? Using frozen edamame to jazz up the smash with lemon zest is simple and so pleasant to eat. I love to add extra lettuce to mine — the crunchy freshness of cos elevates any burger.
Makes 4
400g white fish, roughly chopped
2 spring onions
½ cup chopped coriander
pinch chilli flakes
¼ cup dried breadcrumbs
½ tsp salt
1 egg
a little oil to cook
Smash
1 avocado, stone removed
½ cup edamame, thawed
1 clove garlic
2 tsp lemon zest
¼ cup lemon juice
pinch of each salt and pepper
4 brioche buns
4 cos lettuce leaves
¼ cup aioli
Method
1. Place the fish, spring onions, coriander, chilli flakes, breadcrumbs, salt and egg in a food processor. Blitz until well combined.
2. With damp hands make four even-sized burger patties. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
3. Place the avocado, edamame, garlic, lemon zest, juice, salt and pepper in a processor and pulse until smashed together.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the patties for a few minutes each side until cooked through, turning once.
5. Grill the buns until golden, fill each with avocado smash, lettuce and aioli and top with a burger patty.
Peanut butter balls
Try this quick and easy pre-made snack.
Makes 20
250g raw skinless peanuts
⅓ cup icing sugar
150g dark chocolate
Method
1. Place peanuts in a processor and whizz for 10 to 15 minutes until your peanut butter is creamy. Brush down the sides a few times to ensure it is well mixed. Add the icing sugar and blitz to combine. Remove and cool in the fridge.
2. Roll the peanut mixture into 20 small balls. Place on to baking paper and pop in the freezer for 2 hours.
3. Melt chocolate in a small bowl over simmering water. Remove from the heat and dip the balls in the chocolate using two forks. Return to a clean piece of baking paper. Allow to set, then keep in the fridge until ready to enjoy.