Tuesday 23 September 2014

Hasty, Tasty, Amazing Pastry!

Torta Salata di Sfoglia, con Bietola Rossa, Scamorza Affumicata, Olive, Pancetta & Cipolletta
Puff-Pastry Tart with Red Chard, Smoked Scamorza Cheese, Olives, Bacon & Spring Onion


 

Puffed-up and perfect, this tart was the thing that made good for a lot of - well, pardon my French, but bulls..t, today! Ugh! Sometimes you just need to get into the kitchen to take your mind off the bad things- and fill it with good things instead!

Using the stalks of a small head of beautiful red chard and a few other simple ingredients- including the roll of puff-pastry that is ever-present in my fridge, I put together this amazing tart in 45 minutes and was happy and smiling within an hour! Yep- so go get cooking and get yourselves well-fed and happy too!


 

Oh, of course I made this in my frying pan, yes! There simply is no better way to do it- take my word for it! I don't think I will ever make anything using puff-pastry any other way, ever again! Word!

 

To make this wonderful tart I needed but a small roll of puff-pastry, enough chard, cut into pieces, to cover the base of my frying pan, a Spring onion, a small handful of bacon, 5-6 olives and about 1/3rd of a smoked Scamorza cheese- one of my favorites for this kind of dish!

 

The great thing about using the frying pan is that you get a lovely, perfect, crispy base, that does not get soft and soggy and will give you a crust that is stable enough to eat out of your hand- not something that will already fall apart on your plate! No one likes a soggy base to their pies! Am I right? Or am I right?

 
 
Chop the chard into bite-sized chunks and boil in well salted water for 5 minutes, then rinse off under cold water and allow to cool whilst you slice up your Spring onion, grate your cheese and cut your olives into quarters... Once you have done that, you can have some fun putting your tart together!

 

Cut yourself a base and from the left-over pastry, cut 2 strips and lay them out along the outside edge of the base. Next, add the chard, covering the base nice and evenly and then fill in the gaps with the slices of Spring onion. Scatter with finely diced bacon and then sprinkle with the grated Scamorza cheese. Add the olives and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper and grated nutmeg and pop your frying pan onto the stove top at a good high heat for 3-4 minutes before moving it to your pre-heated oven, where it an finish baking for 15-20 minutes at 180°C until it is puffed-up and beautifully golden brown.

 

And if that does not look like an absolute treat... well- then I don't know what does! Beautiful, dimple and oh-so delicious! And just what the doctor ordered this evening!

 

This would be absolutely perfect for a party- the flavor is delicious and just look at those great colors... seriously... what's not to love?! In fact, I think I am going to have another slice right now!

 

Packed with goodness and such a cool way to make use of that beautiful and succulent chard- it goes so well with bacon and nutmeg- and the smokey cheese and salty olives and bacon just take it waaaay over the edge! You'll love it!

 

 And I'm sure your friends and family will all love it too!

 

But, should you make this all for your lonesome, just like I did this evening... I have no doubt you will be able to manage it all by your lonesome, too!

 

 I should know... I certainly did!

 

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