Happy Father's Day!
Most of the time the food at home is Chinese cuisine - I've grown up with it all my life. Dinner's normally an ordeal of two or three dishes plus a bowl of rice and soup/broth to finish off. I'm not complaining, I love Chinese food and I love the warm family dinners I enjoy at home. It's a rare occasion now that I get to stay home and spend time with my family.
I remember making Father's Day brunch last year too, as I am normally back at home for the summer. This year I decided to make a Tomato and Feta Cheese Tart, and a Warm Lamb and Courgette Salad.
This knife is amazing. Enough with the blunt kitchen knifes back in the Netley kitchen. Julia Child said that you know a knife is sharp when it slices through the skin of a tomato effortlessly. That can be said about this ceramic knife at home.
Into the miniature oven we have at home! It's about the size of a microwave. I miss the massive oven in Netley.
And gave everything a good stir-fry in the wok at home! All done during the baking time of the Tart. Quick and simple.
Dad loved it. He was happy. Made me happy too. Omnomnom.
Tomato and Feta Cheese Tart
Ingredients
Tart Dough
210 g flour
125 g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
2-3 tbsp cold water
Tart Filling
Dijon or whole-grain mustard
2-3 large ripe tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp thyme
250g feta
salt and freshly ground pepper
Optional: 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
A pie tin
Preparation
1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and break in the butter, rub in until the mixture has a crumbly texture.
2. Crack the egg into a bowl and beat, adding the 2 tablespoons of the water. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture, stirring until the dough holds together. If it’s not coming together easily, add the additional tablespoon of ice water.
3. Gather the dough into a ball and roll the dough out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, adding additional flour only as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the counter.
4. Once the dough is large enough so that it will cover the bottom of the pan and go up the sides. Place the dough into the pie tin and “dock” the bottom of the pastry firmly by pressing it down firmly with your fingertips a few times.
5. Preheat the oven to 425ºF (218ºC)*
6. Spread an even layer of mustard over the bottom of the tart dough and let it sit a few minutes to dry out.
7. Slice the tomatoes and arrange them over the mustard in a single, even layer. Drizzle the olive oil over the top.
8. Sprinkle with some chopped fresh herbs, then crumble the feta cheese on top. Add some more fresh herbs, then drizzle with maple syrup, if using.
9. Bake the tart for 30 minutes or so, until the dough is cooked, the tomatoes are tender, and the cheese on top is nicely browned.
*Check the tart midway through baking and turn it down a bit if the top is getting too dark, before the crust and tomatoes appear to be cooked.
Warm Lamb and Courgette Salad
Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and cooled
2 courgettes
Olive oil
Diced lamb
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp sugar
3-4 tbsp Soy Sauce
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
1. Marinate the lamb by adding corn starch, sugar, a pinch of salt and soy sauce.
2. Halve the courgette along its length and lay it on a chopping board. Hold onto it with one hand and run a vegetable peeler along it with the other to get thin ribbons, until you get to the 'soggy' pith in the middle. Discard the white fluffy pith.
3. Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan, then fry the lamb slowly until it has browned. Add the courgette ribbons, extra oil and soy sauce if necessary and stir-fry for a couple more minutes until the courgette has further softened. Finally add the pine nuts, give it a quick stir and serve.
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