Vegetarian mains
Wild garlic tarte soleil
A sun-shaped tart to celebrate the start of spring. This is an ideal tear-and-share snack; it’s essentially a flamboyant disc of cheese straws laced with wild garlic. The garlic needs wilting and squeezing before using to stop the tart going soggy as it cooks.
Cook's notes
If wild garlic isn’t in season you can use spinach or chard in its place to much the same effect. If you wanted to make this vegan, just use dairy free alternatives and brush with oil instead of egg; or try using tapenade or vegan pesto in place of the cheese.
Ingredients
- 100g wild garlic
- 2 sheets of puff pastry (300g each approx.)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1½ tbsp Dijon mustard
- 120g Cheddar cheese, grated
- 60g Parmesan, finely grated
- black pepper
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
Method
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Step 1
Put a kettle of water on to boil. Thoroughly wash the wild garlic and sit it in a heatproof bowl. Pour over the boiling water and leave it for about 30 seconds until it has softened and wilted. Drain and cool it by covering in cold water. Drain it again and then squeeze out as much excess water as you can before roughly chopping it.
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Step 2
Roll each pastry sheet out into a large circle (approx. 26cm diameter). It’s a good idea use a dinner plate as a template to cut around, to give you perfect circles.
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Step 3
Put one circle on a lined baking tray. Pop the other into the fridge until needed. Brush some beaten egg in a 1 cm boarder around the edge of the circle. Smear the inside of the circle evenly with mustard and then scatter over the chopped wild garlic and ¾ of the cheddar and parmesan. Finish with a few turns of black pepper.
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Step 4
Remove the second sheet from the fridge and place it directly on top, pressing the edges together to seal. Mark the centre of the circle by pressing the rim of a small glass or cup onto it. This gives you central hub to cut towards.
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Step 5
Take a ruler and lightly score the circle into 24 equal divisions through the centre. Take a large sharp knife and cut each line to the mark you made with the glass rim. This will give you 24 spokes radiating out from a central hub.
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Step 6
One by one, take the end of each spoke and give it a full turn, making 2 distinct twists in the length. Try and bring the end back down in line with the circle edge. Do this all the way around.
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Step 7
Brush the whole tart with beaten egg and sprinkle the poppy seeds and remaining cheese over the top. Return to the fridge for 10 mins to rest while you preheat your oven to 190⁰C/Gas 5.
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Step 8
Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown. Serve warm.