This recipe is taken from the July 2015 issue of Olive Magazine.

Ingredients

200g shortcrust pastry (I made my own – see this recipe for quantities and method)

150g fat-free quark

1 egg, beaten

1 lemon, zested

A small bunch of dill, finely chopped

3 courgettes, sliced into long thin strips

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4. Roll out the pastry to fit a 21cm x 4cm deep tart tin. Cover with baking parchment and pour in some baking beans, before blind baking for 15 minutes or until the pastry is set and the base no longer looks damp. Remove the beans and cook for another 5 minutes.

2. Mix the quark, egg, lemon zest, dill and season well. Spread into the cooked pastry case.

3. Stack a handful of the courgette ribbons on top of each other, then start to roll into a pinwheel, continually adding lengths. Position this i the centre of the pastry case, on top of the quark mix, and keep adding new outer layers to the wheel to create the circle (holding on to what you have already put in as you do so). Keep adding the slices until the courgette slices start to lean on the edge of the case and hold themselves in.

4. Cook for 40-50 minutes, or until the courgette has softened and is turning golden, and the liquid given off by the courgette has evaporated. Rest the tart for 10 minutes before cutting into slices. Serve with salad and a few new potatoes – yum!

Hope you’ve all had a super weekend!

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As you know, I like trying out new recipes whenever I can! I found this when I was looking for Easter recipes (not that this really has any special Easter connection) but it said that it’s quick to make so I thought I’d try it on a weeknight. The recipe serves 6 – I made up the whole batch and have frozen the rest for another day (I put a later of greaseproof paper between each batch of 2 so that they don’t stick).

This recipe is by Nigel Slater – you can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients
– 400g/14oz beef mince
– 200g/7oz ricotta cheese
– 4 spring onions, finely chopped
– 1 tbsp capers
– 1 sprig of rosemary, leaves picked
– salt and freshly ground black pepper
– 2 tbsp olive oil, for frying

For the relish
– 100g/3½oz sun-dried tomatoes
– 1 tbsp sherry vinegar

To serve
– 6 ciabatta rolls

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl mix together the beef mince, ricotta, spring onions, capers and picked rosemary. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Using your hands make ball shapes of the mixture to approximately the size of your palm.

3. Pan fry in olive oil for 6-8 minutes per side.

4. For the relish, chop the sun-dried tomatoes and mix with a little of the oil from the jar. Add the sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

5. When the patties are cooked, assemble the burgers with a generous spreading of sun-dried tomato relish. Serve in the rolls.

Now we just need some sunshine for a BBQ!

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This recipe originally comes from Delicious Magazine, and serves 4. It freezes really well too, so you could prepare it in advance, or eat half and freeze the other.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
1 large red onion
500g spinach
500g pack ready-made all-butter shortcrust pastry
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
300g (vegetarian) feta, crumbled
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Beaten egg, for brushing

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes until tender. Add the spinach and cook gently until wilted. Squeeze out any liquid and set aside.

2. Roll out the shortcrust pastry on a floured surface and use to line a 20cm round tin, leaving 2-3cm hanging over the edge.

3. Mix the spinach and onions with 2 beaten eggs, feta and 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill. Season well and spoon into the tart case.

4. Fold the excess pastry in towards the centre, brush with beaten egg and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden and set.

5. Serve hot or cold with some salad. Enjoy! :-)[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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For the past week or so it has been hot and sunny here, which doesn’t normally happen in Newcastle, so it’s best to make the most of it! So I decided to make some of this lovely lemon sorbet from a bargain cook book that I found in a charity shop – Good Housekeeping’s Healthy Family Recipes. You can make it in an ice cream maker but we don’t have one, but it still tasted amazing. It’s a real palette cleanser – super zingy and great in this hot weather!

Ingredients

3 juicy lemons
125g/4oz golden caster sugar
1 large egg white

Method

1. Finely pare the lemon zest and the squeeze the juice into a separate bowl. Put the zest into a pan with the sugar and 350ml (12 fl/oz) water. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, and then increase the heat and boil for 10 minutes. Leave the sugar syrup to cool (this took about 30 minutes).

2. Add the lemon juice to the cool syrup and mix well. Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3. Strain the syrup through a fine sieve into a bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg white until just frothy, and then whisk into the lemon mixture.

4. Either use an ice cream maker or pour into a shallow freeze-proof container, and freeze until almost frozen. Mash with a fork and freeze completely.

5. Remove the sorbet to the fridge 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

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I substituted some of the ingredients from the original recipe (using freshly chopped basil instead of mint and parsley) and because I couldn’t find filo pastry in the supermarket this afternoon, I used a sheet of puff pastry instead. I didn’t use the sesame seeds on top either because Tom hates them! I’ll try and include the method for both types of pastry here – hopefully it won’t be too confusing!

Ingredients

5 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
400g red onions, finely chopped (I used 2 large red onions)
500g leeks, finely chopped (I used 3 leeks)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
600g courgettes, finely chopped (I used 3 courgettes)
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
60g fresh mint leaves, removed from storks and roughly chopped
60g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
250g pack filo sheets (12 sheet pack, or 1 sheet of ready to roll puff pastry)
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
25 Kalamata olives (or good quality mixed olives, stoned)
1 heaped teaspoon dried mint
200g feta, crumbled
2 medium eggs, beaten
2-3 teaspoons sesame seeds

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170C or gas mark 3 (I went up to gas 4 with my puff pastry). Grease the base and sides of a 23cm x 7cm deep cake tin, or a similar sized oven proof dish.

2. Put 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onions, leeks and garlic and stir well. Turn the heat down to low and cook gently for 10 minutes until softened. Add the remaining olive oil, courgettes, chilli and herbs, and continue to cook over a low heat for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with black pepper (I didn’t add salt because the feta is salty, and this will be added later).

3. If using filo pastry, lay a sheet of filo over the base of the prepared tin and mould it gently into its shape, allowing the ends to fall over the edge of the tin. Brush with oil and don’t worry if it breaks up a little. Repeat this with 5 more sheets of pastry, brushing each one with oil as you go.

4. Add the lemon zest, pine nuts, olives and dried mint to the courgette mixture, stirring well to combine. Spoon the mixture into the filo lined tin (if using puff pastry, just spoon straight into the greased tin). Crumble the feta over the top and then pour in the beaten eggs (save a little if using puff pastry for brushing).

5. For the top of the pie, either layer 3 sheets of filo pastry (brushing each one with oil) and then fold the hanging edges over the top of the pie, pressing down gently. Brush the filo pastry top with oil and scatter with sesame seeds. If using puff pastry, cover the courgette mixture with the sheet, crimping the excess on the top, and brush with the remaining egg.

6. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes until golden. Serve hot or cold with some salad. Enjoy!

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Ingredients (for a 12″ tin, or 2-3 smaller tins)

(For the pastry)
225g/8oz plain flour
125g/40z margarine or butter
A pinch of salt
About 2-3 splashes cold water

(For the filling)
2 medium sized courgettes, grated
2 tins tuna in brine or spring water (but not oil!)
3 eggs
Semi skimmed milk
Black pepper

Method

1. To make the pastry, put the margarine, salt and flour into a food processor and blitz (or rub together if using hand method). Slowly add the cold water and mix – just add as much or as little, making sure the mixture is not too wet. Knead a little and then wrap in cling film before chilling in the fridge for at least half an hour.

2. When chilled, roll out the pastry. Grease the tin and then line with the pastry, before blind baking (this works best with baking beans) for around 20 minutes at 200/400/Gas mark 6.

3. Whilst the pastry is cooking, prepare the filling. Grate the courgettes and then squeeze out as much of the water as you can – this is really messy, but much better than a soggy quiche!

4. Drain the tuna and add to the courgettes, stirring well. Season with black pepper.

5. Beat the eggs and add milk, making it up to around 450ml. Season with black pepper and then add some of it to the tuna and courgette mix, stirring well.

6. When the pastry case is cooked, add the filling and spread the mixture evenly. Then slowly pour the egg over until it almost reaches the top of the case (you might need to squash the mixture with a fork to make sure the egg will bind everything together).

7. Place in the oven and bake for around 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. You will need to keep squashing the mixture with a fork during cooking time to make sure that the liquid comes to the top – this will help it to cook quicker and ensure that it is cooked right through.

8. You can eat this hot or cold – if serving hot, it is better to leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving. It goes well with summery salads or winter veg, so enjoy!

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