This is one of those ‘cleaning the fridge’ recipes 😉

I had some rocket, grape tomatoes and mozzarelline that needed to be used, otherwise they’d have to be trashed in the next few days.

I decided to make some pâte brisée to go with it and made two quantities to justify dirtying my food processor 🙂 As I was making a small a tart, I used only half of one dough. I divided the remaining dough into 3 balls, wrapped them in cling film and put them in the freezer (it keeps well for up to 3 months).

ROCKET, TOMATO AND MOZZARELLINE TART

PÂTE BRISÉE
250g flour
pinch of salt
125g cold butter
1 egg
30ml cold water
METHOD
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and beat until it comes to a ball. Wrap in cling film and let it rest in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

FILLING
2 eggs
250ml cream
3 tbsp grated cheese
a pinch of nutmeg
salt to taste
rocket
grape tomatoes
mozzarelline
METHOD
Beat eggs, cream, cheese, salt and nutmeg together.

blind bake – brisée pastry

ASSEMBLING
Preheat oven to 210^oC.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface and fit it to the bottom and sides of a quiche tin.
Blind bake it for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and turn the temperature down to 190^oC.
Place rocket, tomatoes and mozzarelline inside the crust and cover them with the cream mixture.
Put it back in the oven for 30 minutes or until filling’s set and golden.

NOTES:
– Why is it important to rest the dough?  The protein in the flour (gluten) gets elastic when it is worked. So when you try to roll a dough that has not rested it keeps shrinking back.
– Why does the pastry shrink in the oven? Any protein shrinks under heat. Think about frying an egg. When you crack it into the pan it occupies a much larger area than after it’s cooked. The pastry is made with a few types of protein – gluten (flour), albumin (egg white) and others in smaller amounts – therefore it’s likely to shrink in the oven.