Artichoke Tart
Artichoke Tart
This tart from Venice is filled with a delicious mixture of artichokes, cheese, eggs, parsley, a hint of garlic and cream. In Venice it is usually made with fresh artichoke hearts, but canned ones make it much quicker and easier. — Paola Gavin, author of Hazana
Servings
4
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1/2 cup whole meal (whole wheat) flour
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup butter
- 2 tablespoon iced water
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 9 –10 artichoke hearts in oil, drained
- 1 cup double (heavy) cream, or half cream, half milk
- 1 egg, 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup grated emmenthal cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- a grating of fresh nutmeg, or a pinch of ground
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- To make the pastry, sift both the flours and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the iced water and form the dough into a soft ball, then wrap in foil and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Place the dough on a floured board and knead it briefly. Roll out into a circle about 30cm (12in) in diameter and 3mm (1/8in) thick. Roll the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it over a well-buttered 20cm (8in) tart tin. Ease the pastry into the corners, then trim any excess dough and crimp the edges with a fork. Prick the bottom in a few places. Cover the dough with foil and fill with baking beans to prevent the tart case from puffing up in the oven. Bake in a preheated 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6 oven for 8–10 minutes. When ready, the pastry should have shrunk away from the side of the tin. Remove from the oven and lift out the foil and beans. Turn the oven down to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan and add the garlic and parsley. Cook over a moderate heat for 2 minutes, then add the artichoke hearts and cook over a gentle heat to blend the flavors. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Beat the cream, egg and egg yolks together in a bowl, then stir in the emmenthal and half of the parmesan. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Arrange the artichoke heart mixture in the tart case, then pour the egg mixture over the top. Sprinkle over the remaining parmesan and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden. Serve hot.
- Recipes excerpted with permission from Hazana: Jewish Vegetarian Cooking by Paola Gavin (Quadrille October 2017)