Another tart

Yes, I am slightly obsessed with savoury tarts at the moment. Should I call them quiches? Does it really matter?

I've had an over-abundance of fresh, free-range eggs lately, as well as lots of other good stuff that goes really well with baked egg. (Well that's what it is, when all's said and done.) Today's effort involved asparagus, wilted baby spinach leaves and little tomatoes.

Once again, follow my basic recipe for the egg and pastry. Fry up some onion and bacon, toss in the asparagus for about two minutes and the leaves for about one minute. You want to just take the edge off and slightly wilt them, not kill them. Season to taste and spoon it into the tart case, trying to spread it around as evenly as possible. Pour the egg over, dot with little tomatoes and bake. Could it be simpler?

A stylish tart

I'm really enjoying savoury tarts at the moment. Don't ask me why. I certainly didn't grow up in a quiche making family. My father baulked at the idea of eggs that didn't come out looking like eggs, so my mother never made quiche. I've never gotten into making them before, except for the mini-party kind. Just now and then. Recently, it's been a lot more now than then. Nobody's complaining.

One of the appeals for me is that they're super-easy to make and very hard to mess up. They freeze, slice and travel well, and keep for several days in the fridge without a drama. Also, you can stick whatever you want in them which is handy. On more than one occasion, I've scoured the fridge for vegetables, any member of the onion family I could lay my hands on and anything resembling ham and/or cheese.

As if this wasn't enough, a savoury tart can look fabulous, like you've spent hours cooking when really you threw it together in ten minutes flat! Just choose a nice tin and put some effort into arranging some tomato, asparagus, salmon, herbs, or whatever you've got, on the top. Serve with some nice salad and interesting chutney to round out the meal.

This week's effort involved the same basic recipe as the broad bean and bacon tart, but instead of broad beans I used spinach in the egg mix and cherry tomatoes to garnish. The result was tasty, healthy and looked beautiful.

[Don't worry - I have a sweet recipe for you next!]

The honeymoon's almost over... but not quite!

Back to real life tomorrow after a very fun few weeks. Our wedding was fantastic, even if predictions came true and we didn't really get a chance to eat. We got back on Friday from the honeymoon and went to another wedding last night, this time at the Kurrajong Hotel in Canberra. The gorgeous food and Helm wines served were all magnificent. Thanks guys! Lunch at the godparents' place today and more wine. Delicious. 

So basically, we've been eating for the nation for the last week and enjoying a thoroughly decadent life that has no resemblance to reality. I highly recommend it.

This morning, since there was no fresh bread in the house and I was really hungry but too lazy to bake, I found a solution. I had scrambled eggs and avocado on a couple of corn Cruskits (so sad), but for Tim, I made a special 'end of honeymoon' cooked breakfast - crumpet french toast. So simple and really delicious. I know I've seen something like this done before. I think it was Jamie Oliver. Wherever I saw it, it certainly worked a treat today. 

I've put down the ingredients but the principle is exactly the same as normal french toast so you can make up an egg mix however you normally do, dunk the crumpets instead of bread, and cook on both sides in a little butter or olive oil. Serve with banana and maple syrup (or a rasher of bacon) or have plain if you prefer. For the cyclists amongst you, it covers all the essentials - carbs, protein, sugar, fat. A great thing about these is that they keep really well as a snack if you let them cool and then refrigerate them. I can see these being sent to work in someone's lunchbox...

Ingredients:

4 fresh crumpets

2 large free-range eggs

Splash of milk (about a 1/4 cup)

1 tbsp melted butter

pinch of salt & pepper

banana and maple syrup to serve

Vigorously whip up the eggs, milk, butter and salt & pepper and let it sit for a few minutes. Soak the crumpets and cook. 

A couple of things - be patient and let the crumpets soak for a good few minutes and then let them cook slowly, rather than flinging them into a really hot, bubbly pan. This way the egg has a chance to be absorbed and then cooks right through evenly, rather then you winding up with a crisp outside and raw centre. Unless you like it that way. 

Another Hallmark holiday bites the dust

This past Sunday was Father's Day - a day like no other. A day when more socks, jocks and Old Spice are exchanged than you can swing a cat at. I have one colleague who bought enough Toblerone to choke a horse (no, Father's Day has not sent me into an animal killing analogy frenzy), and hid it in the filing cabinet for safe-keeping before the big weekend. She was lucky Phil from accounting didn't come around looking for cabcharge receipts or 'dad' would have had to make do with shaving soap and Y-fronts without any real return for looking surprised and grateful on the day. 

Anyway, what I got up to on Dad's Day was making breakfast, which at 10.30am felt better labelled as brunch, but by the time I got to it, it was lunch. And not for my father, but for the adoptive father of my four-legged kid. 

And that leads nicely into the subject of baked egg pots...

I got the idea for these from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie at Home' series. I made baked egg pots ages ago and we both really enjoyed them and thought it was a fitting dish for a special Sunday breakfast (I know!).  It's so simple I haven't included a recipe, but instructions on how anyone could do this. This one really is idiot-proof!

First, dig out your ramekins that never see the light of day. Not the tiny ones used for smart dinner parties that hold exactly 2.5 mouthfuls of creme brulee. Ones that hold about a cup (250ml) or so. I have cheery red ones that came out last time I did this. I could tell Tim did the washing on that day. (Why do men not rinse???)

So after washing the ramekins out, I rubbed the inside with olive oil and then coated with polenta.  In the background, a pot was boiling up two medium sized potatoes with which I made up enough mashed potato to fill the ramekins, and moulded a well into each one big enough for an egg. It's kind of cool moulding hot mashed pots into ramekins, fighting against the polenta that will not let anything stick. Very satisfying. 

I then cracked an egg from my lovely mother's chooks into each, sprinkled with a little bit of parsley, salt and coarse black pepper, and put these into a large baking tin with enough water in it to come about 2/3 of the way  up the ramekins. Then into the oven for about 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius. Or longer if you like a less runny egg yolk.

I served with some exquisite pork sausages from our local butcher, and some portobello mushrooms that I sauteed with some leek in butter. I know olive oil is much better for you, but butter goes with mushrooms and leeks and it was father's day!!!