Bacon Tart

A traditional - and delicious - recipe from a book I discovered called Cape Winelands Cuisine compiled by Hetta van Deventer-Terblanche. Basically it's a savoury bread pudding rather than a tart but none the worse for that.

Hetta writes: Many versions of bacon tart appear in old cookbooks. All the recipes are basically a variatio on a salty 'bread pudding' made from egg custard, bread and breakfast bacon or ham. This recipe is a firm favourite and can easily be prepared in a large pie dish for a group of people or as individual portions

Ingredients

3 Tbsp (45 ml) butter

¼ cup (60 ml) dried breadcrumbs

Butter or oil for sautéing

½ red onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

300 g back or shoulder bacon, diced

6 slices bread

4 eggs

2 cups (500 ml) buttermilk or full-cream milk (buttermilk has a distinctive sour taste)

½ cup (125 ml) grated Cheddar cheese

¼ tsp (1 ml) ground allspice

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 spring onions, chopped, for garnishing (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C (325 °F).

Grease an ovenproof dish with 1 Tbsp (15 ml) of the butter and dust with the breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to set.

Heat a little butter or oil in a pan and sauté the onion, garlic and bacon for 5 minutes until done.

Spread each slice of bread, on one side only, with the remaining butter. Lay the buttered bread in layers in the dish, buttered side up, sprinkling the sautéed onion and bacon mixture over each layer.

Mix the eggs, buttermilk or milk, cheese, allspice and cayenne pepper together. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Pour the mixture over the bread in the ovenproof dish and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and set. Sprinkle with spring onions if using.

Either turn out and service in slices, or serve directly from the dish.

What to drink: It's a South African dish so I'd suggest a South African wine - a Chenin or Chenin Blanc blend, I reckon. Or a dry to medium-dry cider

Fridge-raid tortilla sandwiches

You might think that as tortilla generally has carbs of its own it doesn’t need to be stuffed between two slices of bread. Wrong! The Spanish do it so why shouldn’t the rest of us? Particularly if you have leftovers to use up.

This was based on some amazingly fragrant peppers we bought in the market at Arles a couple of days ago (for 99 cents a kilo!). Add some fried onion, a few slices of chorizo and some eggs and you’ve got a great filling to stuff into a baguette or roll. Or even a pitta bread. Perfect student food for those who have just gone up to uni for the first time.

You can vary it endlessly depending on what’s in the fridge although I’d say that onion - and, some would say, potato - was essential. Ham or bacon instead of chorizo, a bit of crumbled up feta, some chopped herbs - feel free. Just make it a bit thinner than you would a normal tortilla.

Serves 2-3 - or 1 if you’re utterly starving (leftovers will keep in the fridge till the next day)

4 tbsp olive oil + extra for drizzling

1 large mild sweet onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 green peppers - preferably like these small tasty ones on the right - de-seeded and sliced. (You can find them in middle-eastern and Turkish greengrocers)

About 50-75g sliced chorizo

4 large eggs, lightly beaten and seasoned with salt and pepper

a baguette or ciabatta loaf

Heat a medium-to-large frying pan over a moderate heat, add 3 tbsp oil and start frying the onion. As it softens add the sliced peppers and chorizo and fry until the veg start to brown (about 5 minutes).

Add the eggs, cook for a minute then lift the edges of the tortilla to let any uncooked egg run to the bottom of the pan. Leave for 3-4 minutes or so then invert a large plate over the pan and tip the tortilla onto the plate. Add another tbsp of oil, slide the tortilla back into the pan, cook for another minute then turn off the heat. Leave for 8-10 minutes if you can bear it then cut into thick strips and tuck into a split baguette or a couple of rolls. Drizzle over a little extra olive oil or a dollop of aioli. A few fresh basil leaves wouldn't go amiss either.

What to drink: Well probably anything you've got to hand but a glass of Spanish or southern French red would hit the spot nicely

For more recipe inspiration buy my Ultimate Student Cookbook here.

Omelette baguette (bánh mì trứng ốp lết)

One of the cuisines I've always wanted to get to grips with is Vietnamese, not least because we don't have a good Vietnamese restaurant nearby so I welcomed Uyen Luu's beautifully illustrated My Vietnamese Kitchen with open arms.

This is one of the simpler recipes, a version of the popular Bánh mi that would make a fantastic breakfast or brunch dish this weekend.

Uyen writes: Bánh mi is a Vietnamese baguette originally inspired by the French and now a staple in Vietnamese cuisine. As with most Vietnamese food the lightness of the ingredients you fill it with is vital - no-one relishes being weighed down. The dough in the centre of the baguette is removed so that you bite straight through the lovely crisp crust to the filling within.

For an extra dimension, drop the sliced chillies into a bowl of good soy sauce and bruise them with the back of a spoon - this releases the chillies' flavour and heat. Drizzle over the baguette.

Omelette baguette - bánh mì trứng ốp lết

Pickle

2 carrots, shredded

1⁄2 daikon (mooli), shredded

5 tablespoons cider vinegar

5 tablespoons sugar

Omelette

2 eggs, beaten

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

1⁄2 teaspoon sugar

a pinch of salt

a pinch of black pepper

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon cooking oil

2 Asian shallots, finely chopped

To fill

2 Vietnamese baguettes or freshly baked, small French baguettes

butter

coriander

Bird’s Eye chillies, thinly sliced (deseeded for less heat)

Serves 2

Pickle

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Drain and wring with your hands.

Omelette

Beat the eggs in a bowl with the spring onions, sugar, salt and pepper, and soy sauce. Heat the oil in a frying pan and briefly fry the shallots. Pour the egg mixture into the pan over the shallots and spread evenly. Cook for a couple of minutes until the underside looks golden brown (lift up one edge and check). Flip the omelette over and cook for a couple of minutes until brown. Remove from the heat and cut into strips.

To fill

Slit the baguette lengthways and pull out the soft doughy inside (which can be used for breadcrumbs). Spread with butter and insert the omelette strips, pickle, coriander and chillies.

What to drink:

I asked Uyen what she would drink and she said 'a nice green tea', oolong tea or lemonade. If you were serving it later in the day you could go for a light beer or a glass of crisp Austrian grüner veltliner.

From My Vietnamese Kitchen by Uyen Luu, photography © Claire Winfield, published by Ryland Peters & Small at £16.99. To read about Uyen's supper club and classes visit her website www.leluu.com

Potato and lemon frittata with watercress & almond salad

An unusual and fresh-tasting frittata that would make a perfect brunch dish from Ryn and Cordie's In Search of the Perfect Partner (The Food and Wine Matching Formula) reviewed here.

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS
3 baby potatoes
Oil or butter for greasing the dish
200g firm ricotta
4 large free range eggs
50ml cream
1 tsp cumin
1.5 lemons, zested & juiced (keep separate)
1/4 bunch chives, chopped
Salt & pepper
1 large bunch watercress
1 small red onion, sliced into rings
30ml extra virgin olive oil
80g flaked almonds, toasted

METHOD
1. Cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender. When cooled slightly, dice into 1cm cubes.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3. Grease a 25cm pie dish with oil or butter. Place the potatoes in the dish, and crumble the ricotta over the top.
4. Whisk the eggs and cream together, then add cumin, lemon zest and three quarters of the lemon juice (set aside the remaining lemon juice), chives, pepper and salt.
5. Pour this egg mix over the potatoes and ricotta. Bake the frittata for 20-25 minutes or until the egg has set. Set aside to cool slightly.
6. In a bowl, toss the watercress and sliced onion, and drizzle with the olive oil and some lemon juice. Season to taste.

TO SERVE: Plate a wedge of frittata next to a generous portion of salad and sprinkle with the almonds.

MATCH! The freshness and zestiness of a young Semillon makes a fabulous fusion with this frittata. Find one from the Hunter Valley and dig in!