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Mixed berry and ricotta cream tarts

Serve with Strawberry and green peppercorn sauce

LINE

Serves 4

MIXED BERRY TART

The pastry:
185 g/6.5 oz plain flour
95 g /3.4 oz ground almonds
40 g /1.4 oz icing sugar
125 g /4.4 oz butter, chopped
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
pinch of salt

The filling:
200 g/7 oz ricotta (make your own)
seeds of 1 vanilla bean
2 free-range eggs
160 g /5.6 oz caster sugar
½ cup/125 ml fresh cream
60 g/2 oz fresh raspberries
80 g /3 oz fresh blueberries
(frozen berries can be used if fresh ones are not available – defrost and drain them before using)

The sauce:
30 g/1 oz caster sugar
2 tablespoons/30 ml cold water
½ teaspoon/3 ml liquid glucose
250 g/9 oz ripe strawberries, hulled
1 teaspoon/5 ml bottled green peppercorns, rinsed and drained
½ teaspoon/3 ml lemon juice

The garnish:
½ teaspoon/3 ml poppy seeds (optional)
apricot glaze (optional)
the strawberry sauce (recipe above)

Sift the flour into a large bowl, then add the almonds and icing sugar. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and mix with a flat-bladed knife, using a cutting action, until the mixture comes together in large crumbs.  Press together into a ball, cover with plastic film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to moderate 180°C/356°F.

Grease six 8 cm/0.3 in (3 cm/0.1 in deep) tart tins with loose bases. Divide the pastry into six and roll each piece out between two sheets of baking paper to fit the base and side of the tins. Ease the pastry into the tins, gently press into shape and trim the edges. Prick the bases with a fork, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Bake blind for 8-10 minutes, then remove the paper and beads from the baked pastry.

This pastry can also be made in a food processor, but care should be taken not to over process the mixture which will result in tough and hard pastry.

Meanwhile, process the ricotta, vanilla, eggs, sugar and cream in a food processor until smooth. Divide the berries and filling amongst the pre-baked tart shells and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is just firm around the edge but still wobbly in the center.

Let it cool to room temperature, then lift the tarts out of the tins.

Make the syrup by dissolving the sugar, water and glucose in a saucepan and bringing it to a boil over low heat.  Stir continuously and boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat, strain and leave to cool. Process the strawberries and peppercorns, then add the syrup and lemon juice and strain again.

Glucose is very sticky but an easy way to measure it is with either a heated spoon or a spoon dipped in oil. The glucose will simply slip off the spoon. Do the same with honey and corn syrup.

To serve:
When ready to serve, place a tart in the center of each serving plate and pour the sauce around.

STELLA's avatar

By STELLA

I have had no formal chef’s training. Classical piano was my parents’ choice, and that took care of the first 20 years of my life. Journalism and radio followed (my own choices, this time), and these opened many doors for me into different countries, people, cultures — and, of course, foods. In a six week series on radio I used it as a platform for my love of food and shared lots of interesting recipes and food news with listeners.
My earliest memories of food come from the family kitchen at home; I can still remember the wonderful smells of the dishes my mother prepared. I became aware of the flavors of her creations at an early age. Some I enjoyed and preferred, while others depressed me with their lack of interesting flavors. My mother was a good cook, but not a gourmet, and sadly this often showed. What I did appreciate was that she always involved me in the preparation, sharing her knowledge of nutrition, flavor, color, and the harmonies of each plate she dished up. She was also a genius with leftovers and quick meals when unexpected guests arrived. This is one of the things that stands out in my mind, and it inspired me to create wonderful dishes from leftover foods myself.

I carried on with the tradition of carefully planning meals to combine nutrition, color and flavor, while at the same time offering variety and elegant presentation. In the process, I developed a passion for seeking out the best available products, adhering to each season’s offerings, and treating it with the respect it deserves, which eventually became part of my daily culinary life and travels. I did these things not because I wanted to become a chef, but to satisfy myself, family and friends with creations of gorgeous food and exciting flavors. All of which, I hope, is reflected in this blog.

One reply on “Mixed berry and ricotta cream tarts”

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