The Knobbly Plate

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Archives for July 20, 2017

ASPARAGUS, SAMPHIRE, MUSHROOM & ROASTED GARLIC TART

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Yesterday was a good day. I got lots of cooking done from making bread to soup for lunch which I told you about yesterday and last night following inspiration from Malibu Kitchen’s recipe for a similar tart I decided to make a tart from ingredients in the fridge that were starting to get towards the end of their shelf life. There are quite a few ingredients in my tart which could make it a bit on the expensive side if you were to buy all the ingredients fresh. I think the point of this tart is to start with a basic pastry base a few eggs some cream and milk and then look at what you have in the fridge or in your veg basket and design your own tart from there.


I pretty much followed Malibu Kitchen’s recipe because I had most of what she has in her recipe in the fridge. I just had less of it. I did however have the remains of some wonderful samphire that I had bought form Julies Hut, my local crab and fresh fish shack here in Selsey. Can I just say at this point I absolutely love the salty taste of fresh samphire!

I decided I was not going to buy in puff pastry that the recipe originally required but make my own wholemeal pastry. Pastry is not that healthy at the best of times so making it wholemeal at least makes me feel better and I think it has a better taste to it also. I also made my tart slightly smaller so that it meant I would need one less egg and considerably less cream. I have not in the end priced this recipe up as I feel it is irrelevant as like you it is made up of odds and ends that have all been used in previous recipes. I guess though as a rough estimate for a tart that would feed 6 people the basic recipe works out at around £0.82 then you add your fillings.


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ASPARAGUS, SAMPHIRE, MUSHROOM & ROASTED GARLIC TART
Author: 
Recipe type: Tart
Cuisine: British
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • For the Pastry
  • 150g Wholemeal Flour
  • 150g Plain Flour
  • 125g Butter
  • 1 Egg
  • For the Tart
  • 6 Eggs
  • 100ml Double Cream
  • 50ml Milk
  • 8 Roasted Garlic Cloves
  • 6 Asparagus Spears
  • Handful of Chestnut Mushrooms
  • Handful of Samphire
  • Bunch Snipped Chives
  • 25g Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
  1. To make the pastry
  2. Rub the butter into the mixed flours until you reach that breadcrumb stage.
  3. Add the beaten egg to bind it together.
  4. Place in the fridge for 15 mins then roll out into your tart tin and chill for a further hour.
  5. Place a piece of greaseproof paper in the tart tin and fill with baking beans. Blind bake foe 12 mins at gas mark 5. Take the beans out and bake for a further 5 mins until the base is crisp and golden.
  6. To make the roasted garlic.
  7. Place a whole garlic bulb in a oven proof container.
  8. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven at gas mark 4 for 1 hour.
  9. To assemble the tart
  10. Whisk the eggs with the cream and milk.
  11. Add the cheese and snipped chives.
  12. Burst the cooled garlic cloves and spread over the bottom of the tart.
  13. Add the chopped mushrooms, samphire and asparagus spears.
  14. Pour over the egg mixture and place in a pre heated oven at gas mark 6 for 40 mins until golden and set.
  15. Allow the tart to chill to room temperature before serving.

 

 

EVERYBODY LOVES PIZZA, DON’T THEY?

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It says it all in the title really. But there are those out there who simply do not like pizza. I suspect it’s because they have never made their own pizza but have always bought those horrible massed produced frozen ones from the supermarket. Even when you are just buying the base to put your own topping on your not getting that real pizza taste. Here at Knobbly Plate we absolutely love our pizza’s. They are a brilliant way to use up leftover vegetables and so so simple to make as you will see. They can also be as affordable as you like from costing just a few pence to those of you who like to add those special ingredients such as fresh anchovies and capers where the cost goes up to maybe a whole £1 for a 12 inch pizza.

Some historical  facts for you now….. Here at Knobbly Plate we think facts 6 & 7 fit in with our philosophy perfectly.

  1. The word “Pizza” was first documented in the Italian city of Gaeta in 997 AD.
  2. The ancestors of modern-day pizzas were simple flat breads, known asfoccasia in Italy that were sprinkled with different toppings.
  3. Foods similar to pizza can be traced back to the New Stone Age Period.
  4. Early pizzas were often sweet dishes, not savoury!
  5. Many historical records show that people have been adding different ingredients to bread to make it more appetizing.
  6. Most would never guess it, but pizza originally started off as a dish for poor people, sold in the streets and not a food for upper class people.
  7. It was in the 18th century that the poor around the area of Naples got accustomed to adding tomatoes to their yeast-based flat bread, and that’s how the modern pizza began!
  8. Today’s pizzas are characterized by a soft flatbread base, tomatoes and cheese.
  9. Pizza was introduced to the United States with the arrival of Italian immigrants in the 19th century.
  10. The first pizzeria in the United States was opened by Vincent Bruno in Chicago, in the year 1903.


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EVERYBODY LOVES PIZZA, DON’T THEY?
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • For the Base
  • 10g Instant Yeast
  • 10g Salt
  • 300g Strong White Flour
  • 200ml Warm Water
  • For the Topping
  • 400g Tinned Tomatoes
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • 1 Ball Mozzarella
  • Few courgette ribbons( I used 6 on a 12 inch pizza)
  • ½ Red Pepper
  • ½ Red Onion
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Handful Torn Basil Leaves
Instructions
  1. In a bowl mix together the flour salt and yeast.
  2. Add the water and mix into a dough. Knead the dough until silky smooth and it forms a ball.
  3. Cover and leave to prove in a warm place until doubles in size.
  4. Roll out to 12 inches on a floured surface and place on your pizza try.
  5. Whilst the dough is proving make your tomato sauce by heating the tomatoes and crushed garlic until the tomatoes have thickened.
  6. Spread on to the pizza base.
  7. Scatter your toppings on top and bake in a very hot oven Gas Mark 9 for around 10mins until the pizza has puffed up and is bubbling.

 

BEAN BULGUR SALAD WITH PESTO

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Here we go again. Great tasting, healthy food at an affordable price. Today it’s a vegan dish. I know all you meat lovers are groaning in horror now but trust me this tasts fresh and amazing with all it’s different nuggets of juiciness. The inspiration for this dish came from Holy Cow’s Blog. With a few simple changes to her wonderful recipe idea I have brought this into the realms of affordable vegetarian eating.


The main thing I changed was that instead of making the pesto with all those expensive ingredients I simply bought a jar of good quality pesto. Not only did this do me for the recipe but it also meant that there was enough for a spaghetti lunch the next day as well. The next change I made was I bought a tin of mango pieces in natural juice. The difference was nearly a £1 for that item alone and meant that I also had enough mango left over to put on my breakfast cereal the very next morning for a treat. lastly and I do this every time. 500g of dried borlotti beans will cost you the same as a tin of ready made ones. Form the tin you will get one portion. From the bag of dried beans you will get at least half a dozen. You just have to soak them overnight then boil them for 40 mins until soft and plump. No real hardship there.


So what did the whole dish cost. Here is a full breakdown of the ingredients and what they cost me

  • Borlotti beans 52p
  • Pesto 25p
  • Baby Spinach 25p
  • Tinned Mango 40p
  • Red Onion 18p
  • Feta 22p
  • Bulgur Wheat 66p

Now I know that those prices are per portion used but there is nothing on that list that will perish in a day or so. So you can utilise the leftovers in plenty of other dishes. I would suggest a nice wrap with lots of the salad and a spicy dressing. I used a wasabi and ginger dressing to make the wraps the next day. So adding all those ingredients up the salad will cost you £2.48 for 4 people. Thats’s an amazing 62p per plate with plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.


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BEAN BULGUR SALAD WITH PESTO
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • 480g cooked borlotti beans
  • 200g Bulgur Wheat
  • 1 Red Onion Diced Finely
  • Handful of Baby Spinach
  • ½ Can Mango Slices Diced
  • 2 Tomatoes Diced
  • ¼ Jar Pesto Sauce
  • 100g Crumbled Feta Cheese
Instructions
  1. Cook the bulgur wheat as per packet instructions.
  2. Mix all the other ingredients together.
  3. When the bulgar wheat has cooled add it to the mixture.
  4. Stir in the pesto sauce and serve.