The wild garlic season is here, the leaves have been up for a while and the flowers are just starting to come out. I love having a crop that just appears in our woods and we can use it when it's there. Then it goes and we have to wait for next year. Makes a change from all year round supplies of so many treats these days.
Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate being able to get so many things all year, but some things just taste so much better in season.
I made the tart for lunch the other day, and the pesto was for a cookery class I gave a week or so back.
The picture of the pesto is from a teens cookery camp I taught during the Easter break, they also made fresh pasta. That got the biggest wow! from one participant.
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| Wild garlic & ricotta tart |
Wild
garlic and ricotta tart
300g short crust pastry
1
tub ricotta
3
eggs
125g
smoked bacon bits
1
red onion sliced
bunch
of wild garlic chopped
grated Parmesan to sprinkle over the top
Set
the oven to 190˚C, GM 5
Line
the large 23cm loose-bottomed tin with the pastry & bake blind for about 20
minutes.
Fry
the bacon pieces and onion in a spoonful of oil, until the bacon starts to
brown and the onion is soft. Put the onion and bacon into a bowl and add the
wild garlic and the ricotta. Mix well and add the eggs and some black pepper
and mix again.
Fill
the pastry shell with the mixture and sprinkle grated Parmesan over the top.
Bake
for about 30 minutes. Check the tart after 15 minutes to make sure the edges of
the pastry aren't burning, turn down the heat to 180˚C, GM 4 if they are, or
cover them with foil. Pop the plain cold shelf in if using an aga.
Test
for doneness with a skewer or knife. the top will rise and go golden.Take
out of the oven and leave to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove from the tin
and serve with a salad.
Wild Garlic Pesto
60g wild garlic
60g pine nuts
half a tsp of salt
1tbs lemon juice
60g grated Parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil
Pound the wild garlic, pine nuts and salt together in a mortar or whiz in the food
processor. Stir in the lemon juice and grated Parmesan. Thin the mixture with olive oil to a
thick paste.
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| Pesto making! |
