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TOMATO AND WALNUT PESTO TART



    Make every day gourmet with this flavourful tomato tart that’s sure to satisfy your senses with the beautiful combination of Italian flavours from basil pesto and ricotta cheese filling.


    This tart was entirely made from home grown organic produce. Almost everyday I’m plucking these beautiful tomatoes from my backyard and try to make use of them in all different recipes...whether it’s in soups, curries, pastas, chutneys, jams, sandwiches, wraps or in salads, pretty much in everything you wanna add that kick of tomatoes.


    This exotic looking rich crust tart is filled with ricotta and Parmigiano Reggiano layered with walnut basil pesto, which is again made from fresh basil growing in my backyard. To play with the summer’s bounty, I added all different colours and sizes of tomatoes and it looked sooo pretty, and tasted divine. A subtle hint of thyme in the crust adds a different dimension of flavours to the tart.


    Either make it as big tart for sharing, or just individual ones, they surely will grab the attention when served at your tea or dinner party.

    SERVES: 6-8

    PREP TIME: 30 minutes

    BAKING TIME: 55 minutes to 1 hour

    PASSIVE TIME: 30 minutes



    INGREDIENTS


    For Pastry:

    • 250g/2 cups of plain flour

    • 175g unsalted butter, cold and diced

    • 1/2 tsp salt

    • 1/4 tsp dried thyme

    • 2-3 tbsp cold water

    For Pesto:

    • 2 cups loosely packed basil leaves

    • 75g Parmigiano Reggiano, chopped

    • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

    • 2-3 cloves garlic

    • 1/8 tsp salt

    For Ricotta Filling:

    • 1/2 cup ricotta cheese

    • 3 tbsp low fat creamy feta cheese

    • 1/4 cup Parmigiano Regianno, grated

    • Pinch of salt

    • Freshly cracked black pepper

    For Tomato Layer:

    • 8-10 mixed colour and different sized firm tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

    • 2-3 tsp Balsamic vinegar

    • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

    • 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

    • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

    • Few basil leaves for garnish



    METHOD

    1. In a stand mixer bowl, sift flour, add salt, thyme and butter, blend them together with paddle attachment until it resembles breadcrumbs.

    2. Add water and blend for few seconds until the dough combines and form a ball. Do not over work the dough.

    3. Remove the dough on a floured surface, gently knead to bring everything together, take care not to over work the dough. Wrap it in a cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

    4. Preheat the oven to 190°C.

    5. Take the pastry out from the fridge, remove cling wrap and place it on a floured surface.

    6. Roll the dough in a 7 x 16 inch rectangle. Lift and wrap the pastry gently from longer end around the rolling pin and transfer by unwrapping on the loose based rectangular tart pan. Press the pastry into the pan and trim any excess around the edges.

    7. Line the pastry with parchment paper, spread baking beans on top and blind bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment paper and bake further 5 minutes until the pastry is crisp. Remove to cool slightly.

    8. As the pastry is baking in oven, make pesto sauce by blending all ingredients together in a bender and keep aside.

    9. Make the ricotta filling by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. Keep aside.

    10. Take 5 tbsp of pesto sauce and spread on the cooked pastry. Pour and spread ricotta cheese filling on top. Arrange tomato slice, overlapping slightly on each other. Season it with kosher salt and pepper and drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top.

    11. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan, garnish with basil leaves, cut into slices and serve warm.


    COOK'S NOTES:

    • I made this tart with plain flour but you can certainly make it gluten-free by replacing the plain flour with gluten-free flour.

    • Balsamic vinegar gives a slight sweet note to balance the tartness of the tomatoes. If you don’t have balsamic vinegar handy, drizzle little honey instead.


    GREEN PEA AND LEEK SOUP WITH ROASTED BEET CHICKPEAS



      This green goodness is highly nutritional food for the soul which I make for dinners usually when your body needs soulful food to keep you light on your stomach and your senses uplifted. Made leek and peas soup with roasted beet chickpeas and added some freshly plucked basil to enhance its flavours.


      Basil is still blooming well in my garden and thought of using it before the sizzling summer hits Muscat and destroys it! Adding this herb in soup gives that extra flavor and freshness. I love basil so much that I almost end up adding this to most of my recipes, be it a soup, drink, salad, wraps, sandwiches or a even a dessert! Will keep posting my experimental recipes for you to try, and in the meantime, enjoy this green goodness and punch of roasted beetroot chickpeas which is again very nutritious and full of vitamins like B6, magnesium, potassium, calcium and more. Try this recipe!

      SERVES: 4

      PREP TIME: 15 minutes

      COOKING TIME: 55 minutes

      BAKING TIME: 20 minutes



      INGREDIENTS


      For Soup:

      • 4 cups frozen peas, thawed

      • 2 leeks, white and light green parts, sliced

      • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

      • 1 small onion, chopped

      • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

      • 1 cup buttermilk

      • 20g butter (optional)

      • 3 cups hot water

      • 1 tsp sea salt

      • 2 tbsp vegetable stock powder

      • 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed

      • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

      • 2 tbsp crème fraîche, for garnishing

      For Roasted Beet Chickpeas:

      • 250ml beetroot juice

      • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

      • 1 can/ 400g chickpeas, drained, rinsed and pat dried



      METHOD


      1. For roasted beet chickpeas, preheat oven at 200° C, pour the beetroot juice and vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to boil, and simmer for 20-25 minutes until it’s reduced to about 65 ml and has thick and syrupy consistency.

      2. Now line a small baking tray and tip the chickpeas on it and pour half the reduced beetroot syrup, stir to coat them well, place in preheated oven and roast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, pour the remaining beetroot syrup, stir to coat and roast further 10-12 minutes, making sure the syrup does not burn. Remove from oven and set aside.

      3. To make soup, cut leek lengthwise and thoroughly wash through each segment 4-5 times to remove dirt. Slice them all.

      4. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, add shallots and garlic and sauté for few seconds, add leeks and cook them for 10 minutes until softened.

      5. Add vegetable stock and salt, stir to combine and season, add hot water and raise the heat briefly to bring to boil, then simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

      6. Now add the peas and cook for 4-5 minutes until they are tender. Strain the soup into another saucepan.

      7. Pour the stained solids in a blender along with buttermilk, basil and tarragon leaves and blend to a smooth consistency. If necessary, add a ladle or two of stock to the blender for easy blending.

      8. Add the pepper, taste, and add more salt if required.

      9. Now pour the hot soup into bowls, garnish with swirl of crème fraîche on top and gently arrange the roasted beet chickpeas on top, sprinkle a dash of fresh pepper and serve.


      COOK'S NOTES:

      • Sometimes I also add tarragon leaves, which further elevates the taste of the soup.


      APRICOT AND NECTARINE PIE


        Hey everyone! It’s summer in Oman, but honestly, when is it not! You get to see lot of stone fruits in supermarkets, so I picked up these luscious golden apricots and juicy nectarines, and made this quick rustic pie for my friend’s farewell lunch. It’s super simple, easy, quick and very delicious.


        Serve it with a generous scoop of ice cream and you will love the perfect marriage of those piquant tangy sweet fruits and creamy sweetness of vanilla ice cream! I was almost gonna put the scoops of ice-cream on top to take a shot but my pie was still quite warm to hold the shape of scoops intact. I just couldn’t wait any longer for it to cool down completely to take that perfect shot of pie topped with ice-cream as the sun was going down rapidly and was almost getting dusky and I didn’t want to lose that perfect lighting from the sun for my photo shoot. So here’s my virtual treat for you guys.




        SERVES: 8-10

        PREP TIME: 30 minutes

        BAKING TIME: 40 minutes

        TOTAL TIME: 1 hours



        INGREDIENTS


        For Pastry:

        • 1 1/4 cup plain flour

        • 1/2 cup/ 115g cold unsalted butter, diced

        • 1/2 tsp salt

        • 1 tbsp caster sugar

        For Filling:

        • 4-5 apricots

        • 2-3 nectarines

        • 4 tbsp caster sugar

        • 3-4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced

        • 1 egg



        METHOD

        1. To make pastry, in an electric mixer bowl, add flour, salt, sugar and butter, blend with a paddle attachment until the mixture resembles wet sand; add cold water, starting with 3 tbsp, pulse for few seconds until the dough combines together and forms a ball along the side of blender bowl, if it’s still not combined together add additional tablespoon of water.

        2. Now, take pastry dough out on a floured surface and gently roll it into a ball, take care not to over work the dough. Tightly close it in plastic wrap, refrigerate for 30 minutes.

        3. Preheat oven to 180°C, line the large baking tray with parchment paper.

        4. Remove pastry dough from fridge, unwrap and roll it down on a floured surface into 12” circle, place rolled dough on a prepared tray, slightly make a mark by very gently pressing a 9” pastry pan into the center of the dough to make the indentation for you to know how far you need to spread the fruit slices.

        5. Wash and dry the apricots and nectarines, cut them into 1cm thick slices, arrange the slices by slightly overlapping each other and cover the whole marked surface of pastry, leaving the edges blank.

        6. Sprinkle sugar over apricot and nectarine slices and place small knobs of butter all over. Lift the blank pastry on top of the sliced fruit, and fold the pastry every 3-4 inches as you go around to secure the filling inside.

        7. Lightly beat the egg and brush the bare edges of the pastry and bake it in the oven for 35-40 minutes until edges turn golden brown. Let it rest to cool before transferring to the serving platter. Serve it with vanilla ice-cream.


        COOK'S NOTES:

        • To make it vegan, omit regular butter and the egg wash in pastry and use non-dairy butter and milk instead.



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