I had some friends coming round for supper recently who had just had their third baby. They have three kids under three and none are twins! Much to their credit they were up for coming to dinner, it was very impromptu and there was some expectation management on their part: “we are going to be late, we won’t stay long as we have to get back for a feed”. So when I found myself dealing with some tantrums at home (not my own) earlier that evening I suddenly ran out of time to do a pud (my least favourite element of any meal) and a starter I thought it probably wouldn’t matter as they are good friends and would understand. I was hoping that my Thai Penang Curry would hold its own and then that I’d be able to throw some ice cream at them for afters but as our guests arrived I felt sheepish about the lack of apparent effort. My husband and I had put all our energy into juicing maybe 20 limes by hand for our home made margaritas (recipe to follow) and had hit the happy hour ourselves after the day we’d had.
Since one of the couple is in the restaurant business and knows I cook a lot, I think he was expecting my usual roll-out of stuff, but despite his delight at the home made margarita, I thought I sensed just a whiff of disappointment at the brevity of the menu. I hesitated. That wouldn’t do. I swung open the fridge and took out some fennel salame and chorizo by Forest Pig that I’d picked up at Parliament Hill Farmer’s Market in the morning, hacked it up on a board…voila. That would buy us some time. His wife expressed milk in the other room while I rummaged.
I spied the shop bought puff pastry I had been inspired to order from Ocado after watching Nigel Slater making some rhubarb tarts (he made it look so effortless). I never made the rhubarb tarts because, as often happens when I actually plan a recipe, I then couldn’t follow through as the other key ingredient was not up to scratch: the rhubarb at the market was almost sold out and what was left just looked rather sorry and metallic: You win some and you lose some at markets, just as in life, you have to take what you can. On the plus side, that same trip to the market had yielded some spectacular “fiori di zucca” (courgette flowers) which had the blousiest, sun-coloured, blooms and the bonus of tender little courgettes still attached to each. Upon purchase I had still not decided what to do with them – I had considered making pizza bianca (pizza with no tomato) with courgette flowers and gorgonzola and mozzarella, or deep frying them stuffed with mozzarella and anchovy and marjoram or with goats’ cheese and cherry tomato or taleggio and basil… But that Saturday evening I just didn’t have the energy to stand like a sentinel over a spitting saucepan as I rotated the battered flowers in and out while my guests waited patiently for me to come to the table. Nor did i feel up to kneading pizza. Delicious yes, sociable no.
My fridge rummage for the charcuterie had provided a stroke of inspiration: I would use my courgette flowers on the pastry! As often happens withe the simplest, spontaneous and most serendipitous creations, it was perfect. It was beautiful, though I do say so myself, it was easy and it was quick: The elusive trifecta in home entertaining. The four of us polished off the 13″ tart in a matter of minutes:
Serendipitous Easy Courgette Flower Tart
Basically you could put any veg on this pastry, it could be cherry tomatoes and mozzarella and a smear of pesto, lightly roasted peppers and parsley, olives and wilted spinach and cream cheese, pancetta and mushrooms...Whatever you have kicking about in the fridge. How easy is that?
Ingredients
- 8-12 courgette flowers (preferably with courgettes still attached) depending on size
- 250g approx. shop bought puff pastry
- 150g approx goats cheese
- drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (equates to 2-3 table spoons distributed in a thin stream over the flowers)
- 1 pinch Maldon sea salt
- 4 twists of freshly ground black pepper
- sprinkling of freshly cut chives optional
Instructions
- Set the oven at 190C/gas mark 6.
- Cut any woody stalks off the base of the courgette end.
- Lightly dust a pastry board or work surface with flour and roll the puff pastry out in to the shapes you desire.
- Place the pastry on a baking sheet and get to arranging the veg on the top.
- Between the courgette-flower "spokes" score the pastry lightly with a knife. This will help it balloon up around the vegetables. For the tart in the picture I just lay the courgette flowers in a circle, with the narrowest part, the courgette end at the centre.
- Cut your goats cheese log in to discs and lay over the fragile flower heads to protect them. This also looks pretty as it makes the pattern regular. Distribute the remaining cheese across the empty parts of the tart.
- Salt the courgette parts carefully with a sprinkling of Maldon, season all over with a little fresh pepper.
- Drizzle the entire tart with olive oil in a fie zigzag pattern. The tips of the flowers must have some oil on them or they will burn like paper.
- Place in the oven, cook for 15-20 minutes or until the courgette-flowers look golden in parts and the cheese is bubbling and browned in places.
A super-quick starter or veggie main component dish, takes 20 minutes from start to finish but looks super pro!
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