Focus On Food & Wine
THE SEASONED VEGETARIAN
By Simon Rimmer
Pear and Almond Tart
FEEDS 8
Bakewell tart has always been a
favourite of mine; I love that sweet
almond paste when combined with
jam. This lovely tart is of a similar
style, but it makes use of our
fantastic British pears, which give it
a deliciously gentle taste.
Pastry:
225g (8oz) plain flour
100g (31/2 oz) butter
25g (1oz) caster sugar
1 egg
a little milk to bind
Almond filling
225g (8oz) butter
225g (8oz) caster sugar
4 eggs
175g (6oz) ground almonds
50g (2oz) plain flour
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Pears
4 pears, peeled, cut in half lengthways and cored
100g (31/2 oz) butter
75g (3oz) caster sugar
To make the pastry, pulse the ingredients together
in a food processor, using just a little milk to bind
them and make a soft dough. Wrap this in cling film
or greaseproof paper and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200oC/Fan 180oC/Gas 6.
Roll out the pastry and use it to line a greased
20cm (8-inch) tart tin. Chill for a further 20
minutes.
Cover the pastry with greaseproof paper,
pressing it down into the corners, then weigh the
paper down with baking beans. Bake blind for 15
minutes, then lift out the paper and beans and
return the pastry case to the oven for a further 5
minutes until crisp and dry. Reduce the oven
temperature to 180oC/Fan 160oC/Gas 4.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Cream together
the butter and sugar, beat in the eggs one at a
time, then add the almonds, flour and lemon zest.
Fry the pears in butter and sugar until just soft.
Spread the almond filling evenly in the pastry
case, then press the pears, flat-side down, into
the surface. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is
set.
Raisin, Pistachio & Honey Cheesecake
FEEDS 12
This is like a cheesecake, but not
exactly. Okay, it's a cake made of
cheese, but its got a more silky
texture than the average
cheesecake because of the ricotta
and honey. While it should be
served cold, I rather like it just about
room temperature, when its still a
bit squishy. Serve with thick Greek
yoghurt.
Biscuit base
250g (9oz) water biscuits, crushed
125g (41/2oz) butter, melted
75g (3oz) demerara sugar
Topping
1kg (2lb 4oz) ricotta cheese
200g (7oz) cream cheese
6 eggs
100g (31/2 oz) caster sugar
100g (31/2 oz) honey
200g (7oz) shelled unsalted
pistachios, lightly crushed
200g (7oz) golden raisins
Sauce
100g (31/2 oz) honey
100g (31/2 oz) shelled
unsalted pistachios
thick Greek yoghurt, to serve
Preheat the oven to 180oC/Fan 160oC/Gas 4.
Combine the biscuits, butter and sugar, then
press the mixture into the base of a buttered 25cm
(10 inch) springform cake tin.
For the topping, beat together the ricotta and
cream cheese, eggs, sugar and honey, then fold
in the nuts and golden raisins. Spoon the mixture
on to the biscuit base.
Bake the cake for 1 hour until lightly golden brown
and firm.
Turn off the oven, open the oven door slightly and
allow the cheesecake to cool completely in the
oven. When cool, run a knife around the sides to
loosen it, release the clip and remove the cake
from the tin.
For the sauce, warm the honey with the nuts in a
pan.
Cut the cake into wedges, pour over the warm
sauce and serve with the thick Greek yoghurt.
Chocolate & Hazelnut Meringues
FEEDS 12
There’s a patisserie on the edge of
Place des Vosges in Paris that has
the most incredible meringues;
they’re massive pink, brown, green
and white beauties and you can see
hoards of Parisians desperately
trying to avoid breaking them as
they head off to work with a bag-full.
For me, a meringue has to be
crunchy on the outside and chewy
in the middle, like these. The tip
with these monkeys is to have the
oven higher than you need it until
you pop the meringues in, then
notch it down.
Meringues
6 egg whites
300g (10oz) caster sugar
1 tsp sherry ( or red wine)
vinegar
3 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
150g (5oz) shelled
hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
50g (2oz) dark chocolate
(70% cocoa solids) grated
Filling
400ml (14fl oz) whipping cream
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
Sauce
200g (7oz) chocolate hazelnut spread
100g (31/2oz) butter
200ml (7fl oz) double cream
2 tbsp hazelnut liqueur
Preheat the oven to 180oC/Fan 160oC/Gas 4.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then
whisk in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, with
the vinegar, until the mixture is smooth and
glossy. Gently fold in the cocoa powder, nuts and
chocolate.
Spoon 12 heaps of the meringue mixture on to
baking parchment on 2 baking sheets. Place the
sheets in the oven, then immediately turn the
temperature of the oven down to 150oC/Fan
130oC/Gas 2 and bake the meringues for 45
minutes. They should end up crisp on the outside
and chewy in the middle.
For the sauce, gently heat all the ingredients
together in a pan, stirring occasionally.
For the filling, whip the cream with the icing sugar
and seeds scraped from the vanilla pod. Sandwich
the meringues together in pairs with the whipped
cream and serve with sauce over the top.
