Asparagus, Broad Bean and Feta Tart

I love buying and cooking with what's in season. Fruit and vegetables that are at their peak locally are not just cheaper, but they are also so much more flavoursome than when they are grown in a greenhouse somewhere or imported from overseas. It's also nice to know that I'm supporting the local farmers and greengrocers.

Asparagus is just lovely at the moment and whenever I see it at the greengrocer, I can't help but buy a bunch or two. It's so versatile and I could really eat it every day. Simply blanched and drizzled with oil, smothered in Hollandaise, dipped into runny boiled eggs or baked into tarts and quiches. Delicious!

For this weeks vegetarian dinner, I decided to make a tart. I had some broad beans in the freezer and a piece of feta in the fridge that needed using up. I used frozen pastry, because I'm lazy, but freshly made shortcrust would be so much nicer. If only I had more time in my day to make pastry from scratch!

This tart was really easy to put together and I served it with a light, roasted cherry tomato, baby spinach and rocket salad. On a sunny evening, it was a lovely light dinner. It would also be beautiful for a relaxed weekend lunch or picnic, sitting outside in the sun with a glass of wine and good friends.

Asparagus And Broad Bean Tart

1 sheet of frozen shortcrust pastry

A bunch of asparagus, woody ends snapped off

100g frozen broad beans

1 egg

50g Danish or creamy feta, chopped

A handful of mint leaves, finely chopped

6 Cherry tomatoes, halved

A couple of handfuls of baby spinach and rocket

A drizzle of balsamic vinegar

1 tsp toasted sunflower seeds or pinenuts

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Take pastry out of the freezer and allow it to defrost.

Place on a lightly greased oven tray, score a line 1cm from the edge all around the outside.

Par bake for 5 minutes or until the pastry very lightly browns and puffs. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Place asparagus spears and broad beans in a heatproof container and pour over boiling water. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then drain.

Remove skins from broad beans and set aside with asparagus spears.

In a bowl, combine egg, feta, mint and pepper to taste. Mix well to make it into a creamy paste with a few lumpy pieces of feta.

Spread this mixture onto the pastry sheet, keeping it within the border.
Arrange the asparagus and broad beans over the filling.
Return to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the pasty is golden and the egg and feta mixture is set.

While the tart is cooking, place cherry tomato halves and a good drizzle of balsamic vinegar in a tray and roast for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Combine the rocket and baby spinach with the tomatoes. Sprinkle with seeds and add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic to create a dressing. The tomatoes will break down to create a dressing of sorts too, so don't add too much. Season to taste.

Serve the tart in large pieces with the salad on the side.

Enjoy!

And To Drink....

I have written about the 2007 Nepenthe Ithaca Chardonnay quite a few times before. When we bought it, we got a dozen, so there have been plenty of bottles to enjoy!

This is a gorgeous cool climate Chardonnay with lovely citrus and stone fruit flavours. There is a nice nuttiness from the oak, but it isn't overpowering.

With a light vegetarian dish, you don't want a wine that overpowers the subtle flavours of the food. This Adelaide Hills Chardonnay was perfect. It wasn't too heavy and the sweetness of the broad beans and asparagus matched beautifully with the fruit flavours in the wine. The saltiness of the feta wasn't too strong, so it still complemented the wine well.

As a wine to match with this weeks Meat-free Monday, the Nepenthe Chardonnay was wonderful!

Neil Perry's Amazing Chicken!

Last week I cooked up a chicken dish by Neil Perry that was in The Age's Good Weekend magazine. I have never cooked lettuce before and was intrigued to try it. The recipe was really quite simple and turned out to be absolutely delicious!

The braised cos lettuce was soft, but not slimy, which I had thought it might be. The sauce had amazing flavour and the chicken on the bone was just so tender. I couldn't get breasts with the wing bone in, so just used thighs on the bone. Having that extra bit of fat made the meat juicy and full of flavour. I also used frozen broad beans because I was a bit lazy and couldn't be bothered double podding fresh ones. If you have the time and inclination to prepare fresh broad beans, I'm sure they'd lift this dish to the next level!

I made this on a weeknight after work, and it really didn't take that long to prepare at all. You could even make it the day before and just reheat it, if that suited you better. The leftovers I had sure made a tasty lunch the next day!

Matched with a lovely Hunter Valley Semillon, this was a beautiful midweek meal. Thanks Neil Perry for a delicious dinner.

Chicken With Braised Baby Cos and Broad Beans

2 cloves of cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
4  chicken breasts, skin on, with wing bone (or skin on, bone in thighs)
1kg broad beans, in the pod (or 250g frozen)
A drizzle of olive oil
100g unsalted butter
2 heads baby cos lettuce (outer leaves removed), cut into eighths
4 small shallots, halved and thinly sliced
2 tbsp bacon, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste


In a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic and thyme. Rub this mixture into the chicken breasts and season generously. Set aside for the flavours to infuse.

If using fresh broad beans, remove them from the large green pods. Blanch them in boiling salted water for 1 minute, then refresh in iced water and drain. Peel the blanched beans, giving you about 250g of double-peeled beans.

Add a drizzle of oil to a wide, deep pan over medium heat. Place the chicken breasts skin-side down into the pan. Cook slowly until the skin is golden brown then turn over to seal the other side. Remove chicken from pan and drain off any excess fat.

Melt half the butter in the pan then add the lettuce. Brown on both sides and remove. 

Place the sliced shallots into the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the bacon and continue to cook until golden. 

Add the wine and increase heat to high, scraping the base of the pan, then reduce for a minute.

Add stock and return chicken to pan, skin-side up. Simmer, covered, over a medium heat for about 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked. 

In the last five minutes before the chicken is cooked, add the lettuce, cover and continue to simmer until the lettuce is braised but still holding its shape.

Remove the chicken and lettuce from the braising liquid and keep warm. Add the remaining butter then cook the sauce over a high heat until reduced and glossy.

Just before serving, warm the broad beans in the sauce.

Serve the chicken breast on the braised lettuce with the broad beans and sauce poured over the top.

Enjoy!

And To Drink....

The Hunter Valley is known for its Semillon and Tyrrell's Wines would have be one of the most well known wineries from the area. We visited the Hunter Valley for a friend's wedding some years ago and picked up this bottle of liquid gold then.

Being nine years old the 2005 Single Vineyard 'Stevens' Semillon had a beautiful golden colour and aromas of quince, apple and lemon. There was still some lovely acidity, but also nice toasty flavours. Given that this Semillon was not oaked at all, it still had a beautiful complexity and rounded mouthfeel.

Neil Perry recommended having a Chardonnay with the chicken, but an aged Semillon was also a perfect match. The acidity balanced the richness of the chicken skin and the stock based sauce. I used this wine in the sauce as well, so the flavours married very well.

If you've never really tried a Semillon, but drink a lot of Chardonnay, then I urge you to give this variety a try. It is beautiful when enjoyed fresh and young when it has nice crisp acidity, but also fabulous with a bit of age on it, when it becomes rich and complex.

An Easy, Tasty Lunch

Given that I work part time and have two young children, lunch is normally leftovers from the night before or an assortment of whatever is in the fridge and cupboard on a particular day. It might be cheese on toast, noodles with tuna, a sandwich or salad. Often it's whatever the kids haven't eaten!

Today, we'd done our shopping and running around in the morning and I felt like making something a bit more fancy than usual for lunch. At the moment I have a bit of a thing for peas and broad beans. I love all green veg, but find that the sweetness of these two is amazing. They are so versatile and can be used whole or pureed, in soups, salad, pasta or risotto.

After having a bit of a think and a play around, I decided to make a tart of sorts, using up bits and pieces that I already had. As much as homemade pastry is delicious, sometimes you don't have the time to make it. Ready made, frozen pasty does the job!

This tart was so easy to make and could be whipped up for a impromtu lunch, weekend afternoon nibble with drinks or a light dinner. It was so easy the kids helped me to make it! Not much skill involved.

Pea, Broad Bean, Feta and Mint Tart

1 cup of frozen peas
1 cup of frozen broad beans
50g creamy feta cheese (I like Danish feta)
A Squeeze of lemon juice
10 mint leaves, plus extra to serve
1 sheet of frozen shortcrust or puff pastry, defrosted
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Cook the frozen peas and broad beans in boiling water on the stove top or in the microwave for 2-3 mins. Drain and allow to cool.
Remove the outer skins from the broad beans and discard.
Place the peas, beans, half the feta, lemon juice and mint into a food processor and puree until still a bit chunky.
Season to taste.

Place your square of pastry on a lightly greased oven tray.
Score a line about 1cm from the edge, all the way around, to make a central area where you want your filling.
Spread the filling into the middle of the pastry, making sure it goes right to the edges of the line you have drawn.
Place the tray in the oven and bake tart for about 15 mins, or until the pasty is golden and puffed.
Remove from the baking tray to a board or serving plate, sprinkle with the remaining feta that has been cut into small cubes and a few extra chopped mint leaves.

Enjoy!

And To Drink...

Normally I wouldn't have a drink at lunch time on a Monday, but after making a nicer lunch than usual, I thought 'why not?'. Anyway, there was an open bottle of wine in the fridge that was calling out to me!

This bottle of Penfolds Koonunga Hill 2008 Autumn Riesling was bought years ago and has been sitting in the cellar. I think we bought it in 2008 when we were last in the Barossa, so it's been waiting 5 years to be drunk!

Being an Autum Riesling, it is more in the style of a German wine, so is a bit lighter and a little sweeter. Perfect for a midday tipple! Having a few years of age on it, the fruit flavours weren't as obvious, but it was much more complex. It had aromas of honeysuckle and peach, with some fine acidity.

It matched perfectly with the sweetness of the peas and beans in the tart. The saltiness of the feta made the honeysuckle and acidity more obvious, but not overpowering.

Unfortunately I enjoyed the tart with the kids and the wine on my own, but this would have been great if the girls had come around!

Beetroot and Broad Beans

After an amazing dinner at Albert Street Food and Wine last night, tonight it's back to something more plain and simple.

As much as I love to eat meaty dishes, it's nice to have a lighter vegetarian option every so often. After the excess of last night, in both the food and wine department, this was the perfect meal.

Falafel are usually made only with chickpeas, but this version packs a flavour and colour punch with a mixture of beetroot, chickpeas and broad beans. Being oven baked, rather than fried, they are a healthier version too. Wrap them up with a tasty parsley salad and some yoghurt sauce and you have a great tasting meal.  Perfect as a light summer dinner or an easy lunch.

You can make the falafel in advance and keep them in the fridge, so this recipe is great when you want to prepare ahead. Just make sure you cover the baking tray, otherwise the fridge will take on a very garlicky aroma!

Beetroot, Chickpea and Broad Bean Falafel

 

1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup coriander leaves and stalks
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
200g frozen broad beans, cooked as per packet instructions, drained and cooled
2 medium beetroot, peeled and chopped
2 Tbs tahini
2 tsp ground cumin
Mountain bread or other wraps to serve

Place all ingredients, other than bread, in a food processor and whiz until it reaches a pasty consistency.
Scrape down the sides as you go to make sure everything is mixed together well.
Season to taste.
Roll tablespoon sized amounts into balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.
Spray falafel with oil spray and bake for 25 to 30 mins or until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

Yoghurt Sauce

1 cup natural yoghurt
1 Tbs mint, chopped
1 tsp sumac

Combine yoghurt and mint in a small bowl. Sprinkle sumac over the top.

 

Parsley Salad

1 cup parsley leaves
A handful of mixed salad leaves, rocket or baby spinach
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
A drizzle each of extra virgin olive oil and verjuice to dress

Mix parsley, salad leaves and cherry tomatoes in a bowl.
Drizzle over oil and verjuice and toss to combine