Vegetarian Tart

For anyone who knows me, or has seen my phone case, you'll know I'm a bit of a Potterhead. Unlike my husband who read the books in his actual childhood, the closest I'd come to Rowling's infamous works was in my late teens reading passages of The Philosopher's Stone to one of my babysitting charges in the hopes he'd fall asleep quick smart so I could return downstairs and gorge myself on junk food and cable TV (both of which I'd been severely deprived of in my own childhood home!) Years later and nursing the flu and a heavily pregnant belly during a snowy English winter, I finally succumbed to a Harry Potter movie marathon... and I have not been the same since.

And so my love for Potter and his potent tale of championing over evil embedded itself into my soul, and by extension my kitchen.

Cue this tart, which I am calling my 'I believe in Mermaids' tart. Inspired by the scaled residents of The Great Lake (or Black Lake) as featured in The Goblet of Fire, the basis for this recipe comes from my daughter's Harry Potter baking book by Scholastic so I must credit that for the pastry element of this concoction.

Prep Time: 50 mins (approx.) Baking Time: 1 hour (approx.)

For the Pastry:

280g plain flour Pinch of salt 165g unsalted butter (firm, diced) 2 large egg yolks

Method: Combine flour and salt in a bowl and rub in the butter by hand until you achieve a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add the yolks + 2tbsp cold water and mix with a round-bladed knife until dough starts to bind together. Use your hands to bring the mixture into a firm dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 mins.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Make sure to reserve around a quarter of the dough. Thinly roll out the remaining dough and place inside a 9"/23cm tart tin. Press the dough into the base and sides and chill while you make the decorations*. Fill your tart case with baking paper and rice or baking beads to blind bake for 20 mins. Remove the paper and beads, reduce oven temp to 180°C and bake for a further 5 mins.

*Decoration To create the mermaid face and hair, take a ball of dough around the size of a medium potato. Roll it to a medium thickness and shape with a sharp knife into the face shape you want, cutting out additional pieces for lips and so on and arranging it as you want the face to look after baking. Then, using a pizza cutter, cut long strips of the dough and gently twist and curl for the hair. Place all pieces on a prepared baking tray and bake for around 5-8mins until just golden (you don't want to overbake these pieces so you may find you need to take the 'hair' out before the face).

As you can see I also prepped some slivers of zucchini (courgette) to add dimension and colour to the mermaid's hair.

For the filling:

1 red capsicum (bell pepper) 2 red onions 1 bunch broccolini 2.5 tbsp stilton (approx) 1 zucchini (courgette) 3 large eggs 150ml thickened/heavy cream 150ml milk 1 tbsp harissa paste salt and pepper to taste

Once your tart case is baked and cooled you want to brush the base of it with the harissa paste. This adds a delightfully spicy undertone and lifts the whole dish, trust me!

Quarter the capsicum and grill skin up until it blackens. You'll then be able to peel the skin off leaving behind the sweet flesh beneath.

Finely chop the onions and caramelise in a saucepan along with a tsp of brown sugar and a tbsp or so of balsamic vinegar.

Blanch the broccolini by boiling them for 2-3 mins and then transferring them directly into a prepared bowl of cold water for a further 2-3 mins.

Add the caramelised onions to the base of the tart, then layer in the capsicum and broccolini. Next you want to crumble over the stilton.

Meanwhile combine the cream, milk, eggs, salt and pepper in a jug and whisk. Pour over the vegetables and bake for 20 mins.

While the tart is in the oven you can prep your zucchini seaweed decorations. These can be shaped however you prefer and you can get even more creative and use cookie cutters for more interesting shapes or just stick to free hand as I've done, whatever you prefer.

Position the zucchini decoration in a sort of haphazard border around the outside of the tart and return to the oven to bake for a further 10-15 mins until the filling is set.

Place your mermaid face and hair onto the tart, and add two little slivers of zucchini for the mermaid's pupils, et voila!

Let me know if you enjoyed this recipe and if you have a go at it yourself I'd love to see your creation and whether you love this flavour combo!

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