A summer tart that is perfect for a summer’s evening with the family. Preparation and cooking time about an hour, so no excuse for being lazy!

Ingredients:

• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Egg wash
• 175g/6oz unearthed feta cheese
• A hand full of basil leaves
• Salt and  pepper
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Sugar
• 2-3 tbsp of pesto
• 1 X 18cm/ 7in quiche tin or a 6 X 12cm/ 5in low sided tartlet tin

To make the tomato filling:

• 900g/2ib ripe tomatoes peeled, if fresh tomatoes can’t be bought, feel free to use tinned tomatoes (2 ½ cans).
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• ¼ of an onion,  diced into small pieces
• Salt and Pepper
• One or more of the following; chopped mint, basil, thyme or parsley

Method:

• For the tomato filling, put olive oil into a saucepan and heat. Add onions and garlic to the oil for a few minutes, until soft, then cover and leave on a low heat.
• Add the tomatoes to the onions.
• Season with salt, pepper, and sugar, (if using tinned tomatoes add lots of sugar).
• Add herbs (basil is one of my favorites, and works particularly well here)
• Cook covered for a further 10 minutes, and then remove the lid for a further 10 minutes (if using fresh tomatoes cook for slightly less time, to make sure you keep the flavour)
• To lift it, try a drizzle of balsamic vinegar

To make the tart:

• Preheat oven to 250C/475F/ Gas 9
• Put your peppers into a baking tray with a tiny bit of olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until they are soft. Put them in a bowl and cover. Remove stalks and seeds, and cut into strips, make sure that the sweet juices are not washed away!!
• Reduce oven temp to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

 Now for the pastry….

• Roll out the pastry onto a board lightly covered in flour. Line the tin with the pastry to a thickness of around 3mm. Line to the top with parchment paper, or foil, and fill with baking beans (for those of you who don’t know what they are, like me, they are hard ‘beans’ that help distribute the heat and ensure the pastry is cooked throughout). Chill the pastry for 15-20 minutes, and bake for 15 minutes until golden.
• Remove paper and beans, brush the tart with some beaten egg, then put back into oven for two minutes. (This makes sure the pastry is sealed and avoids it becoming soggy!)
• Crumble the feta using the tips of your fingers and spread half the cheese over the base. Put peppers and basil over the feta. Season with a little salt and pepper (not too much because the feta is already salty)
• Cover with 8 tablespoons of the tomato filling, and sprinkle the remaining feta on the top, then it is ready to serve!!

If, like me, you can’t get enough pesto, then drizzle some over the top to finish.

Too hungry to wait? Try some unearthed Olives as a nibble for the family while the meal is being cooked or even add into a salad as a side!

Unearthed products available at: Ocado, Waitrose, Abel&Cole

Another quick meal perfect for the kids which can be rustled up in under an hour.  Also a meal which can be made in large quantities so that it can be frozen and used on those days when time is short.

Serves four, so double up if the family will need feeding later in the week. If you don’t like prawns can also be made with chicken, works just as well!!

Ingredients

• Half a pack of unearthed mini cooking chorizo
• 300g of prawns
• 1 onions, diced into small pieces
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½  tbsp paprika, or ½ teaspoon of saffron (either one that you may prefer)
• 300g paella rice (if can’t get paella rice then risotto rice can also be used and works just as well)
• 1 yellow pepper and 1 red pepper deseeded and cut into small slices.
• 6 cups of water (if using chicken use hot chicken stock)
• 75g of fine green beans, trimmed and blanched
• 3 large, ripe plum tomatoes, cut into chunky pieces (if these can’t be bought tinned tomatoes could also be used)
• 15g of parsley (or any other herb you fancy, we’re not responsible for any flavour clashes)
• A sprinkle of salt

Let’s get cooking

• Heat frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the chorizo, stirring and tossing for 3-4 minutes, until the chorizo has turned golden, and the oil has been released. Once this has been released remove, and set aside.
• Cook the prawns, for 3-4 minutes until the water has been released, again remove this and put aside.
• Add one tablespoon of olive oil and add the onions.
• Fry gently for 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and the paprika or the saffron, and stir these in.
• Add the rice
• Add 5 cups of water
• Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Return the prawns and chorizo to the pan, and add the peppers, beans and tomatoes. Stir and cook for around 5 minutes.
• Add another cup of water is necessary.
• Season now with parsley (or any other herbs you may have in the cupboard)
• Add a sprinkle of salt
• Continue to cook the paella for 5 minutes or until the rice is just tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, then you are ready to tuck in!!

If you are a fan of lemon (who isn’t?), why not drizzle this over the top, to add some more flavour, if not serve as it is and enjoy!!

Unearthed products available from ocado, waitrose and abelandcole.

 

 

 

'Cooking chorizo' is only semi-cured so it stays softer when used in recipes

Chorizo and Haddock Hash

Ingredients (to serve 2)

• 1/2 pack unearthed Mini Cooking Chorizo
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 boiled potatoes (allowed to cool down if possible)
• 1 large tomato, chopped with core removed
• 2 fillets haddock
• Some parsley (flat-leaf ideally)
• Olive oil

Fry the cooking chorizo in a very little oil until cooked through, turning regularly. Remove the chorizo and cook the onion in its juices, stirring regularly - this bit is one of my all-time favourite kitchen experiences, alongside listening to Test Match Special. Dice the potatoes while the onions are going golden, then add the potato and fry for a few minutes.

Time to throw the tomatoes in and return the chorizo to the pan, stir and then delicately place the fish fillets on top. Lower the heat, pop a lid on and give the fish approx. 3-4mins on each side until it is just cooked through.

Serve and top with something green. The ingredients would suggest parsley.

It is very Spanish to combine meat with fish and I hope you enjoying feeling Spanish with this one. Let me know what you think!

This recipe adapted from a Lindsey Bareham recipe that I think came from The Times. The print-outs that get taken in to my kitchen don’t often survive for accurate referencing!

unearthed Mini Cooking Chorizo is available from Waitrose and Ocado.

All the unearthed sliced continental meats in Waitrose and Ocado are currently on promotion at 2 packs for £3. Here’s a roll call:

• Spanish Chorizo
• Italian Prosciutto Crudo
• Italian Salami Milano
• Italian Cooked Ham
• NEW Italian Sausage with Pistachios
• NEW Pave with Green Peppercorns
• NEW Saucisson Sec
• NEW Saucisson Sec with Herbs

Now you can ‘discover a world of flavour’ for less!

These musings were mused (?!) by our resident vegetarian. All vegetarian BBQ ideas welcome as comments – what’s grilling on your coals?

Musings on Tofu

I finally got round to sampling the latest addition to the pot noodle range last week. Much has been made of the first new flavour in 4 years not least because the new Doner Kebab flavour is suitable for Vegans.

Although targeted at meat-eaters, it offers a fine opportunity for vegans and vegetarians to recapture the taste of those kebabs which they long ago chose to forsake. I stopped eating kebabs a long time before I decided to stop eating meat but, strangely enough, only pleasant memories remain of the drunken stagger home via the local kebab shop to enjoy the greasy treat smothered in garlic mayonnaise and chilli sauce and with a token garnish of wilting salad.

The pot noodle was not to my liking and tasted nothing like a doner kebab but it made me think about the market for meat substitutes and the frequent assumption by meat eaters (most often prior to trying them) that they must taste dreadful. My comments on the tastiness of meat substitutes have often caused amusement to omnivorous friends, one of whom likened eating tofu to chewing the inside of a cushion, and it makes me wonder if we only enjoy them so much because we’ve forgotten what real meat tastes like.

The barbeque season is at long last in our sights and with it comes the usual concern of being a veggie at a typically carnivorous gathering. It’s such a treat grilling food outdoors, and providing you avoid one particular well-known brand of vegetarian fare (whose sausages taste exactly as you would expect a blend of seasoned cereal and vegetable protein to) barbecued alternatives to meat can be delicious.

Feta with oregano baked in foil; red peppers with various fillings; halloumi, vegetable and potato skewers drenched in pesto and chargrilled; corn on the cob blackened by flames; tomatoes stuffed with mozzarella. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Do readers of this unearthed blog have any new ideas for me to try?