individual smoked salmon and watercress tian

Ah..... the Great British Bank Holiday!

Rain again.....but that didn't stop us enjoying it, after all, we wouldn't let a few showers spoil the fun! Not much chance for basking in sunshine in the garden, but, undeterred, we still managed to conjure an illusion of Summer with these individual smoked salmon tian; perfect with a light salad of mixed leaves, dressed with garlic vinaigrette, and freshly made crunchy coleslaw on the side - who cares about the rain when you can create Summer in your kitchen!

A Tian is basically a tart without the pastry crust, named after the half glazed french Tian dish that it was traditionally cooked in. Not only does this mean that it is very easy to make, but...you also get all of the wonderful rich, savoury, flavour of a tart, without all the work of making pastry and lining tart cases etc! Whilst there is obviously still a place for tarts and quiches, these little Tians make a wonderful short-cut, and they're great if you can't eat wheat, or you just simply don't want the extra fuss, or 'packaging' of the pastry crust. They hold together surprisingly well even without a pastry case, so they are also perfect for picnics and packed lunches. (Bet you can't guess what's in my lunch-box for today!....)

Because I wanted small, individual, Tians I improvised and cooked them in my muffin pan. The combination of delicate smoked salmon and punchy watercress is so evocative of lazy Summer eating, and it's all held together with a smooth, creamy textured custard, tinged with garlic and freshly grated aromatic nutmeg (this has an amazing ability to bring out the flavour in any creamy sauce)

Individual Smoked Salmon and Watercress Tian

(Cabbage Roses and Cupcakes)

5 eggs

2 tablespoons creme fraiche

150mls single cream

1 tablespoon parmesan cheese

120g smoked salmon

half an 85g bag of watercress roughly chopped (plus a few sprigs for garnish)

1 clove garlic

half a tsp grated nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Set your oven to 180C / Gas 4. Then, in a large bowl, blend together the eggs, cream, creme fraiche, and parmesan. Stir in the garlic, nutmeg, and watercress, and then season to taste. If you don't have a non-stick pan you may need to oil it a little before pouring in the Tian filling. Pour the filling almost to the top of each muffin mould.

(Because the salmon is heavy and sinks to the bottom of the mixture, I found it easier to divide the salmon between the muffin moulds after pouring in the egg and cream filling to make sure that it was evenly distributed). Finally, place a decorative sprig of watercress on the top of each Tian and bake for 20-30 mins until they are just set and golden brown.

caramelised onion flan with nutty oat & carrot pastry

It's been one of those early spring days that just makes you feel good to be alive. The air smelled green and fresh, and the feel of the sun on my face kept me sat outside on the step, coffee mug in hand, relishing its warmth a little longer than I intended!

Bumble bees were humming outside the window, and the sweet-pea on the fence has started to snake it's pale green tendrils in search of a better purchase on the twisted trellis......and I was in my favourite place - the kitchen - baking a recipe which I'd come across on the wonderful and inventive food blog by Evelin called Bounteous Bites

Oats bring such a wonderful nuttiness to everything from muffins and bread, to scones and cakes, and now here they were... in pastry! I have come across pizza bases with oats before, but was intrigued to try the concept in a flan... Since I am becoming increasingly interested in finding and developing alternatives to using wheat flour (there are so many other fabulous grains out there to work with!) I further adapted Evelin's recipe to see if it would work without the flour......it did! I think this is going to be one of those recipes that I'll just keep on 'tweaking'.

I substituted ground almonds and cornflour for the wheat flour since I've found that ground almonds work so well in so many things, and cornflour keeps the pastry 'short' or crispy. The pastry crust was lovely and crunchy when it was warm straight from the oven. It did lose it's bite a bit when it cooled down. Even so, the combination of the nutty sweet pastry with the unctuous creamy oniony-garlic filling was really delicious (I couldn't resist substituting cream for the milk either; I love it's velvety thickness in a flan, and, of course, I had to add garlic!)

It didn't last long, and has already become a favourite. Thank you Evelin!

Caramelised Onion flan with Nutty Oat & Carrot Pastry

For the Pastry:

125g oatflakes (fine cut or ground - a little texture is good, but too much or it won't bind together well)

50g ground almonds

50g cornflour

100g grated carrot

100g butter (at room temperature)

half a teaspoon of baking powder

half a teaspoon of ground coriander

For the filling:

300g shallots or onions

50g butter for frying

3 cloves of garlic

200ml cream

2 eggs

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

a few sprigs of thyme - or whatever you fancy!

seasoning

To make the pastry, measure the oatflakes, ground almonds and cornflour into a bowl together with the baking powder and coriander. Stir to combine and then add in the grated carrot, and finally mix in the butter. I found that cutting it in with a knife until it came together was fine. The mixture will be quite sticky but that's o.k.

Cover and leave in the fridge to rest for about 30 minutes - this way it will be easier to handle!

Meanwhile, slowly cook the onions or shallots in butter.....I used shallots for their shape and sweetness.

until they are gorgeous and caramelised, sweet and sticky...

then add in the garlic almost at the last minute to stop it from being overcooked and burning - which would make it bitter

Roll out the pastry on a floured board (I used more cornflour) and line a flan tin, or individual muffin pans. The pastry is quite sticky and brittle, but if you handle it carefully it's workable. I did find it easier to flatten it out most of the way with my hand before rolling the final round. In fact, where it's quite soft, if it does crack when you line the tins it's no problem to patch up the holes! When you've lined the tin cover and place back in the fridge to rest for another 20 minutes or so to prevent it from shrinking too much.

Then bake the flan blind for 20 minutes at 200C / Gas 6. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 180C / Gas 4. Spread the onion mixture over the base. Mix together the cream and eggs. Add the mustard and seasoning and any herbs you fancy. I used Thyme because it was what was to hand with the fresh spring shoots coming through in the garden.

Pour the cream mixture over the onions and cook for a further 20 to 30 minutes until set and golden brown.

Tastes great straight from the oven with a few fresh spring vegetables, and then have it later for a packed lunch too...

It's not exactly Asian, but the nutty smell of the onions and garlic from my Bento box were certainly tantalizing!

B's deli inspiration

Yesterday B was in experimental mood, and inspired by my favourite lunchtime indulgence from our local Deli Barringtons, he decided he would have a go at his first ever proper pastry flan! "I mean, how difficult can it be?" he said in true 'man' style "...it's basically just an omelette in pastry!" Well, I couldn't disagree, he did have a point............Although not strictly a 'Quiche' in the true definition of the word, which brings to mind a rich eggy custard, soft set with a million and one different delicious combinations, this concoction of meltingly sweet, vegetables, slow roasted and piled into a rich crumbly pastry case with eggs, cream and cheese, was heavenly.......I might even dare go as far as to say that it may be even better cold! I brought some to work for my lunch today, and the pungent garlicky smell (you've probably already guessed that I'm a bit of a garlic fiend!) as I opened the crinkly brown paper packet was mouth watering. Thank you B.

B's Roast Vegetable and Mozzarella Flan

Pastry:

50g Lard

50g Butter

225g Plain Flour

Pinch of salt

Roast Vegetable Filling:

1 each of
Red Pepper
Aubergine

Onion

Courgette

2 Sweet potatoes

Good quality Olive Oil

Mix together: 2 eggs, 150 mls cream, 3-4 cloves of garlic, herbs (whatever you have to hand - oregano/basil/thyme/tarragon work well)

Salt and Pepper

75g mozzarella

Cherry tomatoes

Chop the vegetables into chunky pieces, and toss in the olive oil in a roasting tin. Roast the vegetables at 200C / 400 F / Gas 6 for about 45 mins to an hour, until they are soft and starting to brown.

While the vegetables are cooking prepare the shortcrust pastry case. Rub the lard and butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs, or whizz in a food processor. I prefer to rub in by hand just simply because it's more satisfying (if a little messy, but then that's what baking is about, right?, getting up close and personal with the food!) and you can control the texture better. Anyway, back to the recipe....bring the pastry together with a little cold water, just enough to bind. Be gentle!, over-handled pastry becomes hard. Cover the pastry in cling film and leave in the fridge to 'rest' for about half an hour. This will mean that the pastry won't shrink so much when it's cooked. Roll out the pastry on a floured board (B used a handy bottle of wine in the absence of a rolling pin!) and use to line a 23cm (9 inch) flan tin.

Prick the base and sides of the flan with a fork to help it to cook evenly, and then bake blind for 15 minutes in the top part of a hot oven 190C / 375F / Gas 5 - 'baking blind' just means baked without a filling. To stop the pastry rising too much, or losing it's shape, you generally line the pastry with baking paper and then tip in dried beans while it cooks, but I've also seen recipes where they suggest crumpling up foil instead. Here's how Delia does it...

When the vegetables are roasted to a melting heap, layer them into the baked pastry case interspersed with the torn up mozzarella, and egg/garlic/cream/herb mixture. Finally, dot the top with cherry tomatoes for extra colour if you like, then bake again for about 30-40 mins in the centre of the oven, 190C / 375F / Gas 5 until the flan is set and golden brown.

I like it served with a crunchy salad and tangy dressing for added bite.....

This is a great flan to add your personal touch to by experimenting with the amount and types of vegetables you choose, and you could also substitute goats cheese, or parmesan for the mozzarella for other scrumptious flavour variations!