Pork & gammon
Radicchio, bacon and Perl Las blue tart
This tart is good hot, warm or cold. It's a lovely way of making a head of radicchio the centrepiece of the meal. If you'd like to cut corners, use good shop-bought pastry instead of making it. Perl Las cheese is a strong but delicate blue cheese – another creamy blue cheese will work fine here, but try not to go for anything too robust or the subtle flavours of thyme, garlic, onion and radicchio will be hidden.
Cook's notes
you could make this in a round flan tin and use good ready-made pastry
Ingredients
for the pastry
- 125g plain white flour
- 125g wholemeal flour
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 150g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, plus extra to grease the tin
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1-2 tbsp cold water or milk
for the filling
- oil for frying, e.g. vegetable or sunflower
- 150g rindless smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 radicchio, shredded
- leaves from 4 thyme sprigs, plus a few extra to serve
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3 eggs
- 200ml double cream
- 100g Perl Las blue cheese, crumbled
- salt and pepper
Method
Make the pastry
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Step 1
Put the flours, salt and butter in a food processor and blitz until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg and blitz again, adding just enough milk or water to bring the mixture together in a ball. Remove, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
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Step 2
Meanwhile, lightly grease a flan tin. Roll out the pastry on a floured board and lay in the tin. Cover with baking parchment and fill with ceramic baking beans (or use dried pulses or beans).
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Step 3
Chill again for 10 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 200°C/Gas 6.
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Step 4
Bake the tart blind (covered with the beans) for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Lower the oven temperature to 180°C/Gas 4.
Make the filling
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Step 1
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, fry the bacon until crispy, then remove to a plate. Add a little more oil, the onion, radicchio, thyme and garlic. Fry gently until soft and wilted (about 8-10 minutes).
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Step 2
Stir in the bacon and season. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and stir in the cream. Spoon the radicchio filling into the cooled pastry case, crumble over the Perl Las blue cheese and carefully pour over the egg mixture, making sure none spills over the edge.
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Step 3
Transfer to the oven and cook for 25 minutes or until just set and lightly golden on top. Leave to cool slightly before sprinkling with a few extra thyme leaves to serve.