Raspberry and Coconut Scones Recipe

I came across this scone recipe on the BBC Good Food website and they looked so temptingly delicious I thought I'd get the pinny on and see how they turned out.

Coconut and raspberries are a delightful combo, these light and fluffy scones are amazing and all you need is a dollop of whipped cream for the perfect mouthful!

Raspberries are one of my favourite berries and I love the sweet/sharp flavour. They are the cooks friend, you can use them fresh or frozen and they liven up even the humblest of bakes.

Slightly adapted recipe:

200g self-raising flour
25g desiccated coconut, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling
50g cold salted butter, cut into small cubes
25g golden caster sugar
100ml buttermilk
1-2 tbsp full-fat milk
50g frozen raspberries
1 egg, beaten

You will need: Large baking tray dusted with flour.

1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC.
2. Place the flour in a bowl with the coconut and salt. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix in. Pour in the buttermilk and milk. Mix with a knife until the mixture has almost come together,add the raspberries and mix again, trying not to break up the fruit too much.
3. Tip the dough onto a work surface and knead a little to bring it togetherv– don’t overwork or the scones will be heavy. Pat the dough into a square about 4-5cm deep.
4. Cut into 4 pieces, shape them back into squares.
5. Place onto a baking tray, brush with egg, sprinkle with a little coconut.

6. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and risen. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
7. Either eat on the same day or freeze the cooked scones.

For more scone inspiration you may also like:
In Search of the Perfect Scone Recipe
Fresh Berry Scones
Blueberry Breakfast Scones

Cheese, Onion and Potato Quiche with a Wild Rice Salad - Recipe

This fabulous quiche recipe is by Tom Kerridge

One of my favourite websites is BBC Good Food, I love reading the constructive comments from those who have made the recipes.  The recipe is by Tom Kerridge and apparently he makes this for his pub restaurant. Everyone said that there was too much mixture for one quiche and they had lot's left over. One commenter said how she adapted the recipe to give enough filling with none left over. I followed her suggestion and it has worked out brilliantly.  To make the full quantity you will need a deep quiche tin approximately 5cm deep.

It's a fabulous quiche, the pastry is easy to make and gloriously crisp to eat.  There is a layer of cooked new potatoes, spring onions and Montgomery Cheddar cheese cooked in a creamy custard layer.

No soggy bottom here!

I used the bottom heat setting to bake my pastry which gives a lovely crisp pastry base - the custard layer is also cooked very gently on a low setting using bottom heat to give a luxurious velvety custard.

Hubby said this is the best quiche he has ever eaten and people on the BBC Good Food website have said it's their favourite too.

Adapted recipe

225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
140g cold butter, diced
1 tsp icing sugar
1 egg yolk
For the filling:
250g new potatoes, no need to peel, cooked and sliced
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
125g Montgomery cheddar, diced
2 eggs
300ml double cream

You will need:  23cm loose base fluted tin 2.5cm deep

1. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar, egg yolk and 3 tbsp cold water, to form a firm dough. Wrap well in cling film and rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.  Roll out the pastry and line the tart tin. Cover with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans. Brush the pastry base with beaten egg and cook for 5-10 minutes more until the tart case is pale.
3. Turn the oven down to 160ºC. Place a layer of cooked potatoes on the base of the tart, scatter over the spring onions and cheddar. Whisk together the eggs and cream, season. Pour into the tart case and cook for 40-45 mins or until just set. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Original recipe

I served a Wild Rice Salad with the quiche........the glass bowl is by Arcoroc they are amazing and great multitaskers. I purchased a set of different sizes from Divertimenti, they are light weight, nest inside each other, don't scratch, freezer, dishwasher and microwave safe and it's free postage too. Cons are they are quite shallow so absolutely no good for some whisking tasks and they aren't oven proof(but this isn't an issue with me).

225g wild rice
850ml water
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, sliced into strips
cucumber sliced lengthways
1 orange, peeled, pith removed and segmented
A handful of cherry tomatoes quartered
1 red onion finely sliced
handful of chopped parsley
Dressing:
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
seasoning to taste

1. Pour the water into a large pan, bring to a boil.  Stir, cover and simmer for 40 minutes until tender.  Drain and cool. Or use a microwave rice steamer and cook for approximately 30 minutes.
2. Add the dressing ingredients to a basin and whisk together.  Pour onto the cooled rice.
3. Mix the peppers, orange, tomatoes, red onion and parsley into the rice mixture.
4. Store in the fridge until needed.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagne

I enjoy vegetarian meals, and whilst I eat meat, it's great to have meatless days too.  I am a very fussy meat eater - for instance I will only buy sausages from my trusted butcher, I'd never eat a burger unless I make it myself, likewise with bolognese sauce, who knows what's hidden in that innocent looking sauce. I would never buy a sandwich which contains meat of any description.....yes I'm a very, very fussy meat eater.

The lasagne recipe is from BBC GoodFood website, I made a few substitutions, I'm not too keen on aubergines and used a couple of courgettes, red onions, yellow and red pepper and sliced chestnut mushrooms. Everything in the recipe is made from scratch including the tomato sauce, it's best to be prepared to spend quite some time in the kitchen but the result is worth it.  I served mine with a leafy salad and sundried tomato flatbread.

The original recipe includes a white sauce but I think a cheese sauce would have worked well. Have you made a sauce which tastes of flour?  Step by step instructions from WikiHow - show how to make a white/cheese sauce and how to avoid this problem.

Recipe: Frozen Berry Parfait

This is such a pretty dessert and one that can be made ahead and frozen. One of my Christmas desserts,  it is totally delicious and fortunately there is still some left in the freezer.  First published in Olive Magazine the recipe can be found on the fabulous BBC GoodFood website.

My 'nodietdiet' is about to start - basically this is simply eating less and more healthily. I now need to cut back on sugary things, I've eaten my body weight in sugar and some of my pending blog posts are Christmas desserts loaded with sugar. My increase in weight over the festive period was nil but I did eat far too much sugar.

Grazing on seeds, dried and fresh fruits at lunchtimes is going to be a priority.  Leaves, leaves and more leaves will be on the menu too. Pomegranates definitely won't get a look in, I used to like them, but every book and every magazine has a recipe using pomegranate seeds.

There are still Christmas goodies in the freezer, the naughty cupboard has all manner of chocolates looking at me and trying to tempt me in.  How can I resist a Thorntons Chocolate Smile? I have carrier bags with part-baked baguettes, Cadbury chocolate fingers and a few bags of posh crisps.  Everyone seems to have bought us sweet indulgences for Christmas and the house is heaving with sugar overload. Looking at all the booty I think it will take us until Valentine's Day to eat the lot.

Rosemary Roast Lamb Chops and Potatoes

Whilst lazily reading the newspaper at my local coffee shop the other week, I came across this recipe from BBC GoodFood in the Daily Mail.  I always look forward to seeing which recipe they have chosen from the GoodFood website because I can then buy the ingredients whilst I'm out shopping and cook the suggested recipe.  I don't know whose job it is to choose recipes from the GoodFood website for the Daily Mail readers but they always pick a winner.  I'm mostly grateful to them because it saves me thinking 'what shall I cook for dinner'.

After my disaaahhhster (disaster) with a previous meal, I thought it only fair I cooked something that looked good, tasted wonderful and is very delicious too.

The recipe is very easy to prepare and make, I used King Edward old potatoes because when roasted they are crunchy on the outside and fluffy within.  The balsamic vinegar drizzled over the roasted meal is a must and takes it to another level. I cut off some rosemary which happily grows in my garden and managed to tear off the last sprig of mint too.

The recipe is on the BBC GoodFood website. I found the oven timings suggested on their site too short and cooked the potatoes for another 20 minutes.

Roasted Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Quiche

We have had a lovely outing to Liverpool to see a beautiful new born baby girl and her proud mummy and daddy.

I enjoy wandering around Liverpool and didn't need any persuading to revisit Delifonseca in Stanley Street for lunch.  There is a wonderful deli downstairs and upstairs they serve freshly made food. It is close to The Cavern and if you are nearby and need lunch/dinner which is made to a high standard, you can't go wrong, they also have a restaurant at Dockside, Liverpool. When I go out for lunch, I mostly choose the vegetarian option, and Delifonseca served me a fabulous quiche.  I hadn't made a quiche for some time and found this delicious recipe on the BBC GoodFood website.

   To go along side the quiche I made this crunchy rice salad.

Raspberry, Blueberry and Lime Drizzle Cake

This cake is definitely one I will be making time and time again and I can't believe it has taken me so long to get round to making it.

It's full of fruity goodness and is a cake cum dessert bake. The lime drizzle is fresh and tangy, so it's a win, win bake.

I used frozen fruit and it worked perfectly, a tip here is not to stir frozen fruit into the cake mix or you will end up with streaked batter. I always put the batter into the lined tin and then simply put the fruit on top and press it down.


When it's cooled down cut into slices and put in the freezer for cake or dessert time!

The recipe is from the BBC Good Food website who, as always, bring us the most amazing bakes.

I know that there has been a lot in the press lately regarding obesity but it's everything in moderation. Although there are a number of sweet bakes on my website, I don't eat cake all day long:( My intake of cake is confined to one piece of cake in the evening with a cup of coffee, this ritual seems to take place at around 9 pm each evening and I am non the worse for this, because cake makes me happy! Most of the bakes on my website can be cut into sensible size portions and frozen, then thawed either in the microwave or at room temperature.

Happy baking and enjoy!

LEMON THYME, PROSCIUTTO, PECORINO AND GOAT'S CHEESE RISOTTO

I can eat a bowl of risotto at any time of the year. It's quick, easy, filling and doesn't cost a lot of money. If I can't think what to cook or am pushed for time, these days it seems risotto is top of the list.

We seem to be having some summer weather this year and I am trying not to have the oven on for any longer than possible, because of all the heat it throws out into my kitchen. This year the majority of my cooking has been done either on the hob or outdoors on the barbecue.

Once you have mastered the base recipe for risotto, the possibilities for adding ingredients are endless, almost anything goes. As long as you keep your stock simmering on the hob whilst you are making the risotto and stir, stir, stir, to achieve a creamy rice - you can't go far wrong! Making this recipe was a good excuse to give my new pan a test run and it made the risotto perfectly.

Here is a useful link to the BBC GoodFood website showing how to make risotto.

The adapted recipe is from Jamie Oliver - The Return of the Naked Chef.

Serves: 2

You will need:

25g butter, 1 finely chopped onion, 1 crushed clove garlic, 150g risotto rice, glass white wine, 750ml simmering vegetable stock.
A handful of lemon thyme leaves plus some extra for decoration, 50g grated pecorino cheese, 75g crumbled soft goat's cheese, a few slices of prosciutto

1. Heat the butter in a wide shallow pan and cook the onion and garlic until softened. add the risotto rice and stir until coated.
2. Pour in the wine and bubble until it's all absorbed. Add the lemon thyme leaves. Gradually add the hot vegetable stock, stirring until the rice is tender but still has a little bite. Add the grated pecorino cheese.
3. Lay the prosciutto over the risotto, crumble over the goat's cheese and scatter over lemon thyme leaves.

INDIVIDUAL PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN PUDDINGS

I can't resist a good British Pudding and this is one of those puddings that has stood the test of time.

As a child I ate this at home, learnt to cook it at school, served it to my family and to this day it is still a firm favourite.

I have adapted this recipe from Good Food Magazine 101 Tempting Desserts.

Serves: 6

You will need: six buttered 200ml ramekin dishes.

For the topping: 100g butter, 100g light muscovado sugar, 2 tbsp dark rum, 432g can drained pineapple rings, 6 glace cherries

For the cake: 50g unsweetened desiccated coconut, 100g butter at room temperature, 175g golden caster sugar, 3 large eggs, 175g Self-raising flour, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 125ml milk.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4/Fan 160°C.
2. To make the topping, put the sugar, butter and rum into a pan and heat for 2 minutes, until the sugar has melted, stirring occasionally. Pour a little of the mixture into the bottom of each ramekin, then put a pineapple slice with a cherry inside on top.
3. To make the cake: put the coconut in a pan over a gentle heat, stirring often, until it begins to turn light golden brown, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
4. Mix the remaining cake ingredients together until they are well combined. Stir in the cooled coconut. Spoon the mixture over the pineapple slices.
5. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until well risen and golden brown. If they aren't cooked cover with foil and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes or so.
6. Turn the puddings out, reheat any leftover topping and pour over the puddings. Serve with either custard or cream.

CHICKEN CIABIATTA AND CHEESEBURGER AND CHIPS

The only thing I could rustle up for the blog this week is a chicken, bacon, avocado and lettuce number, but nonetheless, it is totally delicious. I almost forgot, I made the cheeseburger too.

If you have any teenagers at home this holiday, point them in the direction of the kitchen, and ask them to have fun making these instead of heading for the burger bar!

Absolutely no skill required for this and it's extremely filling too. Simply take a Taste The Difference Ciabiatta from Sainsbury's (if possible) and bake. Cook some streaky bacon on a griddle pan until crispy. Bash out a skinless chicken fillet and cook on a griddle pan - after it's cooked squeeze over some lemon juice and a few grindings of black pepper, cover with foil.

Take the cooked ciabiatta, split open and spread both sides with mayonnaise, place your chicken on top, layer with the bacon, sliced tomatoes, slices of avocado and top with crispy cos lettuce - then a dollop of mango chutney and a grinding of black pepper.

In the photograph there is no evidence of the bacon, mayonnaise or the mango chutney, I think they were all camera shy!

CHEESEBURGER & CHIPS


My recipe came from the BBC GoodFood website and is a real favourite of mine. I use a beefburger press gadget I bought years ago and it makes perfect burgers every time.

Spread mayonnaise on both the cut sides of the burger buns, put a piece of crispy lettuce on the base, top with the burger, slices of tomato and red onion and just because I love it, a dollop of mango chutney. Mmmm delicious.

BOOZY BERRY & ELDERFLOWER TRIFLE

The weather was glorious last bank holiday weekend. Saturday was taken up buying plants, gardening and getting all the pots and hanging baskets ready for the summer.

On the Sunday we all went to a wedding in Shropshire and for part of the evening sat outside, surrounded by the stunning Shropshire countryside.

Bank holiday Monday - more gardening and preparing a BBQ. We did get the occasional shower but managed to cook the BBQ just before the heavens opened!

I hope you all had a good bank holiday too and found time to get outside and take in some of the much needed sun!

Time wasn't exactly on my side last weekend, but I managed to make this dessert taken from the BBCGoodFood website.

I didn't have any fresh raspberries, but the frozen ones worked just fine. My raspberry canes in the garden are coming on well and I can't wait to start picking raspberries.

We haven't had trifle for ages, I'm thinking perhaps it was Christmas. This dessert was quick and easy, literally just an assembly job, and I know it won't be long before my husband requests this trifle again!

This weekend we went to a very sunny Bristol, walked loads, had great food -especially in the evening at Hotel du Vin in the bistro.













The next day on our way home, we called in at Gloucester where they had a display of tall ships in the historic docks. Next to the docks they have a new shopping mall which is a designer outlet, most of the units were in use but there are still quite a few shops yet to open up.

VALENTINE'S DAY CAKE

How about making a heart shape cake for sharing and one that is perhaps a little too pink, topped with lots of butter cream. I bought the shimmer sprinkles and silver dragees from Sainsbury's (these were made by Supercook) and planned the cake around them. The cake is simply a three egg Victoria sponge mix.

We had a family wedding yesterday morning and lunchtime was spent at the bride and groom's house for snacks and cakes before we had a 'bit of a do' in the evening for the wedding reception. As cake is my domain, I baked three quite simple cakes to take along. Everyone seemed to enjoy them and I thought I would share the cakes with you. I made the heart shape cake, a Bakewell cake and an iced lemon drizzle cake.


Cherry Bakewell cake from the February 2009 BBC GoodFood Magazine tasted as wonderful as it looked. The only alteration to the original recipe was I used Bonne Maman Raspberry Conserve instead of the suggested morello cherry conserve. If you like Bakewell Tart then you will love this.


I topped a lemon drizzle cake with butter cream and a few pastel coloured dragees. Use any lemon drizzle cake recipe, but for the 'drizzle' you will need to make a lemon syrup by placing into a small saucepan 25g caster sugar and the juice of one lemon, heat gently to dissolve the caster sugar into the lemon juice, simmer until syrupy. Prick the cake all over when it comes out of the oven and carefully spoon over the hot lemon syrup. Leave in the tin until the cake is cold before turning out.

It's perhaps best to line the cake tin first with baking parchment so that you can just lift the cake out of the tin - it makes life easier. The buttercream was made with unsalted butter, otherwise the buttercream is just too sickly.

Followers of my blog might like to pop over to read a piece by Becky Hogge who has written an article for the NewStatesman called Recipes for Twitters. Becky has given my humble blog a little mention!

ALMOND CAKE WITH SPARKLING CLEMENTINES

The sparkling clementines bathing in the Cointreau syrup look so pretty they can be served piled high in a glass bowl, without even considering making the cake. This is how I served them last year, and they are a very welcome dessert after all the rich food we had devoured!

The clementines are submerged in the Cointreau syrup for 24 hours before using and are simply turned now and again. The sparkling clementines in their syrup can be made in advance and popped into the freezer.

The cake was made with ready-to-eat apricots that had been simmered gently in clementine juice. A tender crumbed, moist cake that either keeps well or can be frozen. This cake is an all-in-one mixture and so no labour intensive cake making here!

This recipe is by Mary Cadogan who is now a food consultant for BBCGoodFood Magazine.

GOOD FOOD CHRISTMAS MADE EASY

ISBN 056352149X - Page 122

Serves: 6

You will need: A buttered and base lined 20cm round cake tin.

For the cake: 100g ready-to-eat finely chopped dried apricots, 175ml clementine juice (6-8 clementines), 100g softened butter, 100g golden caster sugar, 2 eggs, 50g self-raising flour, 175g ground almonds, ½ tsp vanilla extract, 2 tbs slivered almonds, icing sugar for dusting.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4/Fan 160°C. Place the apricots in a pan with the clementine juice. Bring to the boil, then gently simmer for 5 minutes. Leave to cool.
2. Beat the butter, sugar, eggs and flour in a bowl for 2 minutes until light and fluffy, then fold in the ground almonds, vanilla and apricots along with their juices.
3. Put the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Scatter over the slivered almonds. Bake in the oven for approximately 40-50 minutes until firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in an airtight container).

For the Sparkling Clementines:

8 clementines, 175g golden caster sugar, 5 tablespoons Cointreau or Grand Marnier.

1. Squeeze the juice from 2 clementines and put to one side. Peel the remaining clementines and remove all the pith, place them in a heatproof bowl.
2. Put the sugar in a saucepan with 6 tablespoons cold water. Gently heat, stirring gently until the sugar has dissolved, then increase the heat, stop stirring and rapidly boil until the syrup turns light caramel, about 2-4 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the clementine juice and Cointreau. Return to the heat and stir until the caramel is smooth, then pour it over the whole clementines. Turn them in the syrup, then cover with a saucer to submerge them and leave in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

To Serve: Dust the cake with icing sugar. Slice the cake and put a wedge on each plate with a clementine. Spoon the syrup over the cake and fruit. Serve with Greek yogurt.

SHORTCAKES WITH BLACKBERRY AND ORANGE COMPOTE

Blackberries are now in the hedgerows and the best news - they are free! Where I live we have an endless supply, in the hedgerows on the canal paths.

Wild blackberries are one of my favourite fruits and you can make endless desserts with them. The BBCGoodFood site have 33 recipes you can make using blackberries. UKTV Food have some wonderful recipes too.

The larger blackberries in the photograph are cultivated ones from my own garden and they taste surprisingly good, and I have mixed these with some wild blackberries. A few years ago I bought some thornless blackberry plants and this year I've picked a bowlful of berries from them almost every day.

The shortcake recipe I used was disappointing, the texture was quite dense and they were a little on the heavy side.

Nigella's shortcakes, a recipe I have made lots of times, would be perfect and I will give the recipe below for Nigella's shortcakes and the blackberry compote.

HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS - NIGELLA LAWSON

ISBN 0701168889 - Page 69

You will need: 1 baking tray, greased, 6.5cm round cutter

For the shortcakes:

325g plain flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 5 tablespoons caster sugar, 125g frozen unsalted butter, 1 large egg beaten, 125ml single cream, 1 lightly beaten egg white.

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas mark 7
2. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl. Grate the butter into these dry ingredients and use your fingertips to finish crumbling the butter into the flour.
3. Whisk the egg into the cream, and pour into the flour mixture a little at a time, using a fork to mix. You may not need all of the eggy cream to make the dough come together so cautiously.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll gently to a thickness of about 2cm. Dip the cutter in flour and cut out - you should get 8 in all.
5. Place the shortcakes about 2.5 cm apart on the baking sheet, brush the tops with egg white and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of caster sugar.
6. You can now, if necessary, cover and refrigerate them for up to 2 hours.
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown and let them cool for a short while on a wire rack.
8. Meanwhile, make the filling.

BBC MASTERCHEF GOES LARGE

ISBN 0091905575 - Page 179

For the filling:

250g blackberries, 1½ tablespoon caster sugar, grated zest and juice of 1 orange, 150ml double cream.

1. Place half of the blackberries in a saucepan, add the sugar, orange zest and juice. Cover the pan and cook on a low heat for a few minutes. The fruit needs to be tender and hold its shape. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
2. Beat the double cream until it forms soft peaks. Split the shortcakes in two and fill with cream and fresh blackberries. Drizzle over the compote and serve.

GOOD-FOR-YOU GRANOLA

Mostly for breakfast, I like to eat homemade muesli - I have a favourite recipe taken from Sainsbury's Magazine by Nigel Slater. The main reason I favour this is because it is unsweetened.
However, I decided to make granola for a change and this recipe is taken from the bbcgoodfood website. It both looks and tastes delicious. I found this granola quite sweet but it has a wonderful crunch. To counteract the sweetness a dollop of natural homemade yogurt goes with it perfectly.
Even though I found it a little sweet, it still beats anything you can buy off the supermarket shelf.
A few spoonfuls on vanilla ice cream would be good or a bowl filled with granola to snack on throughout the day would be perfect.

ASPARAGUS TARTS

I have seen lots of food blogs showcasing asparagus and thought if I wasn't careful I would miss the moment, and for lovers of asparagus there is even an Asparagus Festival in the Vale of Evesham.

Nigel Slater in The Kitchen Diaries shares with us the way he likes to eat his spears, with butter not melted, but soft enough to sink a finger in. He eats his spears at home the way he was taught by an asparagus farmer in Evesham. You boil them in deep, salted water till they will bend and are a dull, muted green - 'that way, they have more of a flavour to 'em'. You eat them with nothing but a china plate of brown bread cut as thin as you dare, buttered as if you were plastering a wall.

With the asparagus spears that were left after making the pie, I ate the rest of them the Nigel Slater way!!

My preference is to roast asparagus, none of the flavour is lost into the water that way. Nigel Slater in his book Appetite gives an easy way to roast asparagus - just wrap them in foil with a spoonful of water and a slice of butter tucked inside.

The following recipe is by Antony Worrall Thompson and the tarts were eaten greedily and with much appreciation. The asparagus in the photograph was grown in the Heart of England.

BBC GOODFOOD MAGAZINE -
ANTONY'S WEEKEND COOKBOOK

ISBN 0563493801 - PAGE 126
SERVES: 4

500g ready-made puff pastry, thawed if frozen. A little plain flour, for dusting. Unsalted butter, for greasing. 3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. 1 large onion, thinly sliced. 16 asparagus spears, trimmed. 1 egg, beaten. 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Salt and freshly ground black pepper. Tomato salad, to serve.

1. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board to 0.5 cm thickness. Cut the pastry into four even-sized rectangles, each about 20 x 10 cm and trim down the edges. Arrange on a large greased baking sheet, prick all over with a fork and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 3-4 minutes until softened but not coloured, stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. Blanch the asparagus in a pan of boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and refresh quickly under cold running water. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Spread the softened onion over the pastry bases, leaving a 1 cm border around the edges. Arrange the asparagus spears on top to cover the onion completely and brush lightly with the remaining olive oil.
5. Brush the pastry borders with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese over the whole tart. Season to taste and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. Remove the tarts from the oven, transfer to warmed plates and serve hot or warm with the tomato salad, if you like.