This week has been strawberry crazy at home! With 4 boxes of 500 g for less than 5 dollars, no wonder I bought quite a few boxes! Do you want to know how many? 16! Yes, indeed! But they are now all gone, we had the last ones at diner (and everyone is not bored with eating strawberries).
In my strawberry crazy week, I did some jam, we had strawberry tarts, roasted, strawberry for breakfast, for dinner and for lunch boxes. Guess what, we finished the strawberries tonight!
Two recipes were a great success. I will share those with you now.
Again some madeleines, but these ones are strawberry and rosemary madeleines
This madeleines were really a trial, I was trying to find something to go with poached pears and that could be done relatively quickly. These strawberry and rosemary madeleines turned out quite good. They were not as crunchy as the plain ones but the rosemary and strawberry do bring another dimension to that biscuit. Quite good with poached pears indeed! Click here for the recipe.
And of course a strawberry tart
I made the base with my younger daughter, the older one (7 y.o) did the rest of the tart with a bit of instructions. I use a few versions of strawberry tarts. You can find more on the dedicated page for strawberry tart recipes. Basically, the tarts all have a sweet short crust pastry, you then choose or not to have a layer over the pastry before placing the strawberries. The added layer can be roasted strawberries pureed or a creme patissiere (custard). On top of the strawberries, we use a bit of jam diluted and brush it on, it adds taste and shine.
Strawberry tart, yeah! This dessert is at its best when you have good supply of tasty strawberries. This is also a very easy recipe to involve kids in.
There are three versions I make alternatively at home. All require a sweet short crust pastry precooked. The difference is in the addition of a layer between the pastry and the strawberry. All have a glazing above the strawberry made from diluted strawberry (or other red berries) jam and brushed on.
VERSION 1 – the most simple version and the quicker: placing the strawberries directly on top of the cooked pastry. It is better made in the morning or at least a few hours before eating to allow the fruits and jam to soak a little and soften a little the pastry.
VERSION 2 – Using roasted berry which have been reduced to a puree over the pastry, then placing the strawberries on top.
VERSION 3 – The most elaborate and often seen in pastry shops. Placing a layer of creme patissiere (thick custard) over the pastry before placing the strawberries.
The dough
250 g plain flour
125 g softened butter
125 g white sugar
1 egg
Mix all ingredient together and form a ball. In a large bowl, mix all ingredient together and form a ball. Over a few movemnts, knead it on the kitchen bench to ensure cohesion (20 seconds max).
Place the dough on a sheet of baking paper and spread with your hands. Dust with flour to prevent sticking. You can also place another sheet of baking paper and roll with the rolling-pin. I like to push it with my hands. Once you have the size and thickness desired, remove any excess (you can use it for biscuits with the kids). Place in your tin if using a tin (or just use a pizza tray), trim as needed. Using a fork, make little holes all over. This prevent the formation of bubbles in the oven.
Bake 10-15 minutes on 160 degrees Celsius until light blonde. Remove from the oven and slide the base on a cooling rack using the baking paper. Allow to cool.
The Topping
VERSION 1
You need:
Strawberries, end trimmed
Strawberry jam diluted slightly with hot water for brushing over.
Place the strawberries on the base, then brush over with the diluted jam.
VERSION 2
You need:
balsamic vinegar
caster sugar
Strawberries, end trimmed
Strawberry jam diluted slightly with hot water for brushing over.
for the roasted strawberry, place 1 cup of strawberries (if very large, half or quartered) in a small roasting dish. Mix 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar with 2 tablespoon of caster sugar. Coat the strawberries, if excess, leave it at the bottom of the roasting dish. Roast under the grill or in the oven for 10 minutes or a but more until just soft. Use a blender to make a puree.
Place the puree of roasted strawberry over the base. Then place the full strawberries.
Glaze by brushing over with diluted jam.
VERSION 3
You need:
For the creme patissiere (custard)
25 cl milk
30 g caster sugar
30 g plain flour
2 egg yolks
a drop of vanilla
for the rest of the tart:
Strawberries, end trimmed
Strawberry jam diluted slightly with hot water for brushing over.
For the custard, warm up the milk and sugar together. In the meanwhile beat the egg yolks with the flour in a large bowl, use some of the milk to get it more liquid.
When the milk is about boiling, transfer to the bowl with the egg-flour mixture and beat together until combined.
Pour back into the saucepan and place on low over the stove. Keep mixing until the cream thickens and then transfer to a clean bowl. If not using straight away, place a plastic film right on the surface to prevent the formation of a skin.
Tarts are a bit like salads, there can be one for every day. Tarts can be a lunch main item or family diner main or a side. Tarts are very versatile. There are the “every day tarts” and the “special occasion tarts”. They can be served simply in the tart dish or on a serving dish.
The pastry
The three main pastry types are:
The shortcrust pastry (pate brisée)
The sweet shortcrust pastry (pate sablée), and
The puff pastry (pate feuilletée)
From there, there are many variations especially when it gets to the sweet shortcrust pastry when used as a base for cakes.
The shortcrust pastry is by far the most commonly used. Many people are surprised when they learn that it is used for savoury and sweet tarts. It is much better homemade, and can be done in advance. You can also make a larger quantity and keep in the fridge for a few days or freeze in portions of 150 to 200 grams.
Shortcrust pastry consists solely of flour, half the weight of the flour of butter and a bit of water, I will add the method later.
The shortcrust pastry is most commonly used for strawberry tarts, lemon tarts and chocolate tarts. I use the same recipe to make shortbread biscuits for the kids. I have never tried a bought version (yes, this means that it is that easy!).
The puff pastry requires a bit more time and technique but it is not hard and I find it quite fun to make. I have now made it a few times. I make a large batch, cut into portions and freeze. Depending on where you live, you may find some good ones at the supermarket, but watch out for the ingredients, it should contain butter and not margarine.
Savoury Tarts
The most known of the savoury tarts is the quiche. A quiche is essentially based on eggs and cream. If you add bacon dices (lardons), it is a quiche Lorraine. The quiche Lorraine is a children favourite! The steamed broccolini on the photo was added after cooking purely for decoration! I had served the quiche with a few bunches of steamed broccolini. With the quiche, I love a cheese quiche and an Asian mushroom quiche: I love using Asian mushrooms and placing them as if doing a landscape on a large quiche, they also taste great!
Funki quiche…
I also love and often make the following:
red-pepper (capsicum) tart. It is quite light. Salty with the sweetness of the capsicum.
a spinach tart. This is a perfect dinner dish.
an onion tart. Handy when you run out of fresh food, there are always a few onions around.
a “flamiche” or leek tart, really delicious, this is a specialty from Northern France.
a mustard and tomato tart
Red capsicum tart
I use the puff pastry with onions or when doing a light tomato tart. Puff pastry can also come handy if it comes already rolled or ready to roll (i.e. no need making a shortcrust pastry).
Sweet Tarts
Fruit tarts are often made using the shortcrust pastry, typically apple tarts and pear tarts for an everyday meal would be done so. The elaborate version of apple tart / pear tart may use puff pastry or a sweet shortcrust pastry (or variation of). The simple fruit tart is very easy: roll your pastry, place in the tart tin (no need to butter the tin by the way), cut your fruits in slices, place them in a round shape. You can choose to just add a couple of nuts of butter and a bit of sugar or a small mix made of one egg, 1/2 cup of milk or cream and a bit of sugar. For those fruits like pears that typically give away a lot of juice, you will need to add 1 big tablespoon of almond meal. The almond meal will soak up the juice and prevent a soaked pastry at the bottom of the tart.
Fruit tarts are a great use of fruits which are very ripe or need to be used rapidly. It is a double hit: you don’t throw away those fruits and your family gets desert!
For a simple strawberry tart, prepare a sweet shortcrust pastry, place it in the tin by either rolling it or by pushing it into the tart tin with your fingers. Make dots with a fork on the basis to prevent the formation of bubbles, cook until lightly golden. Place strawberries on top and brush them with red currant or apricot jam warmed and slightly diluted with water. A more elaborate version would be to add a layer of creme patissière below the strawberries. Pastry shops which may prepare the tart more in advance than you would at home, often add again another layer (sponge or almond-based) to soak up liquids and prevent the pastry to become soggy.
Simple strawberry tart
Lemon tarts come in two kinds: the one where the lemon filling cooks into the tart and the ones where the lemon curd is made ahead. For the one alike a quiche, I like Julie Goodwin’s lemon and lime tart recipe.
Pastry left over….
And if there are small pastry left over, you can:
Shortcrust pastry
Make one or several tartlets with fruits from the fruit basket or frozen berries. Alternatively, you can put some jam in the tartlets.
Do an afternoon tea for the kids: place the scarp together, roll, place on baking paper, put a bit of brown sugar on top. An option is to add a drizzle of thickened cream. Then bake on a tray.
Sweet shortcrust pastry
Make a ball, roll to 6 mm thick, use a shape or a kitchen glass to make biscuits, place on a baking sheet and bake.
Puff pastry
Place leftover puff pastry on a tray, pre-cut them in long strips and grate cheese on top, you can also add chilli, ground coriander or fresh herbs. It will make a good appetizer.
Another use for puff pastry leftover is to push them down a buttered muffin tin and fill with creme patissière (assuming you have some handy), egg-wash the sides, sprinkle a bit of sugar on top of the egg-wash and bake.
