Tales from a Veggie Kitchen

This was supposed to be made with figs, not nectarines, but my local supermarket is quite tempremental when it comes to fruit and vegetable stock. Nectarines actually worked quite well, and we not nearly as sweet as you'd think. There's a lot of contrasting flavours in here and it packs quite a punch. Best served with boiled potatoes (I sprinkled mine with some fresh thyme) and baby spinach salad leaves. This is just so easy to make and it looks great. Not the lightest meal in the world though.



Nectarine and goat's cheese tart

Serves 2

Takes 30 minutes if you're snappy with your timing


1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry or around 220g cut off of a block

125g soft goat's cheese

2 nectarines

A jar of ready made olive tapenade (black is best)

A handful of cherry tomatoes, around 10 will do

Beaten egg or milk to brush over the pastry - optional. I'm too lazy.


* Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan) and roll out the puff pastry, if needed.

* Score the edges of the pastry to form a crust, then spread a couple of tablespoons of tapenade inside the filling area.

* Slice the nectarines and arrange onto the tapenade.

* Crumble the goat's cheese into any bare areas, then plop the tomatoes down where you can.

* If you wish, brush the crust with egg/milk, which will make the pastry nice and golden and crisp when it rises.

* Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes - it's really best to keep an eye on it here. There's a fine line between well cooked puff pastry and burnt puff pastry!

This is a recipe that's pretty similar to where I lifted it from. Good old BBC Good food!

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4540/crispy-greekstyle-pie-

I did make a few adaptations though, so I'll outline those here and what I did. It was very tasty and probably actually better cold than hot, or at least eaten the next day. I'd never used filo pastry before so it was all new to me. This is a great recipe to make for friends because it really does look exactly like the recipe picture and I think it's very attractive. I served it with boiled potatoes in roasmary butter and a tomato and radish salad.


Greek filo pastry pie

Serves 4

Takes around 50-55 minutes


200g bag of baby spinach

125g sun dried tomatoes (preferably in oil)

125g feta cheese

1 small red onion

2 eggs

A pack of filo pastry (make sure you have at least 3 sheets)


* Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Break the eggs into a large bowl (big enough to fit the other ingredients in) and beat.

* Heat a large pan over medium heat. While this is heating, chop the onion into small pieces and cut or crumble the feta into small cubes. If you have time, slice the sun dried tomatoes into smaller pieces. Add these to the bowl with the eggs.

* Heat the spinach in the pan, covered, with a couple of tablespoons of water. When it's done, press the spinach down into a seive to drain the excess water and chop. Add this to the bowl. Once the spinach is out, fry the onions for about 5 minutes until softened.

* While the onions are cooking prepare the pastry. You can use a standard pie/flan dish. Take one sheet of filo pastry and brush one side with oil. Lie that sheet oil-side down into the pie dish and press into the dish, making sure there are flaps hanging over the side. Repeat with 2 more pastry sheets ensuring that they are turned so the overhanging flaps are not directly on top of each other.

* When the onion is done, add that to the bowl and mix everything together evenly and make sure everything is coated with the egg. Pour this filling into the prepared dish and close the overhanging flaps of the pastry until the filling is full covered.

* Bake for 30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.

I'm back from holiday now and can cook what I want! These tarts are so simple, tasty and look amazing. A good piece for if you're cooking for others. I've listed the ingredients on a per tart basis, to make it easier to scale up. These are quite large and I can only fit 2 comfortably on a baking tray.


Mozzarella, tomato and olive puff pastry tarts

For 1 tart

All in all time taken was around half an hour


1 medium tomato

Half a ball of mozzarella

125g puff pastry (I used 1/4 of a block of Jus roll all-butter puff)

Olive tapenade or sliced olives (Your choice of type, I used kalamata tapenade)

A few basil leaves to sprinkle on top

Optional - egg or milk to brush the edges

Preheat oven to 220C (200C fan ovens)


* Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until nice and thin and vaguely a squat rectangle shape

* Score a rectangle inside the edges; this is where your crust will puff up at the edge of the filling

* Spread/lay the tapenade/olives inside the scored area

* Slice the tomato and mozzarella and lay these down in an alternating pattern on top of the olives

* Sprinkle some basil leaves on top. If you want, brush the edges with egg or milk

* Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden

I served this with minted new potatoes and a salad. Yummy!