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Cep and fennel tartlets with roasted plum tomatoes
Serves 6 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- For the pastry
- 200g plain flour
- 85g butter
- 1 egg, beaten
For the filling
- butter, for frying
- 2 large shallots, finely chopped
- 1 whole fennel bulb, trimmed and finely chopped small bunch of thyme, leaves picked
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 250g fresh English ceps
- 50ml double cream
- 2 egg yolks
For the roasted tomatoes
- 100ml olive oil
- 12 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1tbsp thyme leaves few rosemary sprigs, leaves picked
- 1kg ripe plum tomatoes, quartered
- 2tsp caster sugar
- 1tbsp sherry vinegar
Method
To make the pastry, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl then rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and enough water (around 1tbsp) to make a firm dough. Leave to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/Gas 4. In a frying pan, melt the butter and add the shallots, fennel and thyme. Cook over a medium heat until the shallots are nearly soft, then add the garlic and ceps. Sauté for a few minutes until the ceps start to wilt. Set aside.
Take the pastry from the fridge, roll to a thickness of 5mm and line the tartlet cases. Allow plenty of pastry to hang over the edges. Line with baking parchment, fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
For the roasted tomatoes, pour the oil into an ovenproof dish. Add the garlic and herbs and place in the oven to heat through. Toss the tomatoes in a bowl with the sugar, 2tsp rock salt and vinegar and add to the herbs and garlic. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, then keep warm while you finish off the tarts.
Turn the oven down to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3. Trim any excess pastry and fill each case with the cep mixture.
Whisk together the cream and yolks, season well and divide between the cases. Bake for 12 minutes until the tartlets take on a glaze. Serve the tartlets with the roasted tomatoes and a good amount of the roasting juices.
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