Pea, goat's cheese and basil tart

Method

1 Heat the oven to 190ºC (180ºC fan oven) gas mark 5. Place 150ml water in a large saucepan with the butter, sugar and ½ tsp of salt. Bring to the boil over a high heat, add the peas and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender. Drain them into a sieve. Place half of them in a food processor and briefly whizz to break them up.

2 In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk with the cream, some seasoning and half the Parmesan. Fold in all the peas, half the goat’s cheese and the basil. Transfer the filling to the tart case and scatter over the remaining goat’s cheese and Parmesan. Drizzle the olive oil over the surface and bake the tart for 35-40 minutes until golden and set in the centre.

3 Leave the tart to cool for 20 minutes before serving. This variety is equally good eaten hot or at room temperature, and can also be reheated.

TO MAKE THE PASTRY
225g plain flour
pinch sea salt
150g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1 medium egg, separated  

1 Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor, add the butter and reduce to a fine crumb-like consistency.

2 Incorporate the egg yolk, then, with the motor running, trickle in just enough cold water for the dough to cling together in lumps.

3 Transfer the pastry to a large bowl and bring it together into a ball using your hands. You can, of course, do all of this by hand, rubbing the butter in with your fingers.

4 Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour, though it will keep in the fridge for up to two days. It also freezes well, so you may like to make a second batch while you are at it.

 
COOK'S TIPS

I often make use of packs of ready-shelled fresh peas. Most good goat’s cheeses are produced on a small scale; I would look locally for these, either at a farmers’ market or at a village cheese shop.

Recipe by Annie Bell