Salmon, Leek & Rocket Tart with Parmesan Pastry

Tart, or quiche, I don’t know what it’s called these days, and I don’t care what title it gets. I know it tastes great and that’s all that matters to me.

 I love using salmon in a way that doesn’t involve frying it and as I love making pastry, I’m on to a winner.

 And about that pastry, the addition of the parmesan adds a great umami flavour that really compliments the filling, and in my book, any added taste gives it an edge.

 Take the time with the pastry, keeping the pastry as cold as possible and chunks of butter in the mix is the way to stop it from shrinking and keeping any layers, and if you want to freeze it, do that too.

I’m in live with hot honey, so i drizzle it over most things right now, and this is no exception - Find the recipe for it here!

 Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!

Ready to eat

 What You Need

 Pastry

•  350g Plain Flour

• 250g Butter – See Tip Box

• 150g Parmesan – Finely grated

• 300mls (Approx.) Cold Water – See Tip Box

Keep the butter cold and in chunks

 Filling

•  300g Salmon – Skin removed

• 200g Greek Yoghurt

• 100ml Milk – See Tip Box

• 30g Rocket

• 4 Large Eggs

• 2 tbsp Cold Butter – Cut up into medium sized pieces

• 1 Large Leek – Cleaned and roughly chopped

• 1 Garlic Cloves – Finely minced

• Salt and Pepper

Keep the salmon chunky

 How It’s Done

 Pastry

•  Place the flour, and parmesan in to a large bowl and give it a stir or two to mix everything together.

• Put the pieces of cold butter into the bowl and using finger tips, two blunt knives or a pastry cutter (my preference) ‘cut’ the butter into the flour until it becomes small pieces and can still be seen in the flour.

When the butter is in the flour there should still be lumps.

• Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in 250ml of the cold water, and using a blunt knife to stir the mixture around the bowl until it starts to come together into a dough – See Tip Box

• The dough should be soft but not sticky – add more water if needed and quickly bring the dough together into a rough bowl – DO NOT knead the dough.

Don’t over handle or knead the dough

• Leave the dough in the bowl and cover it with non-stick baking parchment or like I do, use the paper from the butter.

• Place the bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes.

• DO NOT over handle the dough, and DO NOT knead it – handle as little as possible – See Tip Box

•  Prepare a 9’ (23cm) shallow loose bottomed tin by rubbing all over the inside of the tin with butter, making sure to get into the dents.

• Add a little flour and tap it all around the inside of the tin to coat the inside. Tap the tin to get rid of the excess.

• Set it aside until needed.

• Once it comes out of the fridge, cut the dough in half and wrap one piece of the dough in cling film and use for another bake such as my Tender stem Broccoli & Cheese Tart or double wrap in cling film and freeze for up to 3 months – See Tip Box

• Add a very little bit of flour to the work surface and roll out one half of the pastry out into a circle to fit the prepared tin.

• Lay the pastry gently in the tin, and gently push the pastry into the corners and grooves of the tin – See Tip Box

• Use a fork to prick holes all over the bottom of the tin.

• Use a sharp knife go around the edge of the tin and trimming off the excess.

Prick the bottom and cut off the edges

• Place the lined tin in the freezer for 15 minutes

• While the pastry is in the freezer, place an oven tray in the oven and heat the oven to 180c.

• Time to blind bake the pastry – See Tip Box

• Once out of the freezer, cut a piece of non-stick baking parchment out, bigger than the tin, and pour in some baking beans, place the tin on the hot baking tray, and let the pastry bake for 12-15 minutes.

• Remove the baking beans and paper and put the tin back in the oven to dry out for another 10 -15 minutes – Until the bottom of the pastry is dry to the touch.

The egg and Greek yoghurt mix should be smooth.

 Filling

•  Place the butter and prepared leeks in to a shallow frying pan, add some salt and pepper and cook in a low to medium heat until the leeks are softened – around 10-15 minutes – don’t rush it.

• Add the minced garlic, give it a stir, and cook for a further two minutes.

• Remove the leeks to a bowl and let them go cold.

• Place the eggs, the Greek yoghurt, milk and salt and pepper into a small bowl and use a fork to mix everything together really well – set aside until needed.

• Cut the salmon into medium cubes and set aside until needed.

Leeks first then salmon chunks

•  Once the pastry has finished blind baking, lay the cold leeks on the bottom of the pastry case, followed by the chunks of salmon and then the rocket.

• Pour the egg mixture into the tin and sit the tin back on to the hot baking tray and into the oven to bake for 30-40 minutes or until the edges are set and the middle still has a very little bit of a wobble, but a tooth pick put into it comes out clean – See Tip BoxLet the tart cool before removing it from the tin.

• Serve warm or at room temperature.

• Drizzle with hot honey to add more yumm! Find the recipe here!

Top the salmon with the rocket

  Filling

 Tip Box

•  Butter – Salted or not. I always use salted butter in my baking, but if you don’t, add a pinch of salt to the pastry

• Cold Water – How much cold water to use in the pastry will vary, so you may need a little more or a little less.

• Milk – I uses semi skimmed, but use whatever you have.

• Using blunt knife to bring the dough together – Over handling the dough will make it tough to eat. Use your hands as little as possible. Using blunt knives helps with this.

• Don’t Overhandle the Dough – As I’ve said, over handling the dough is a sure fire way to make the dough tough. So do not knead it and use hands as little as possible.

Pressing the dough in the tin – It’s easy for fingers to go through the pastry, so I like to use a lump of pastry, dipped in a little bit of flour, to push the pastry against the tin.

Deliciou

• Blind Baking – Blind baking gets the pastry cooked before the filling is put in. This helps keeps the bottom of the tart from being soggy.

• Baking time – All ovens are different so adjust the baking time accordingly.

• Freezing – Make sure the pastry is wrapped really well before freezing, and when ready to use, defrost completely before using it.

Drizzle it with hot honey