Cauliflower, potato and caraway homity pie

A wonderfully comforting recipe from Mark Diacono’s lovely book Vegetables. 

Mark writes: “Even in the small towns of south-west England in the late 1980s, the occasional health-food shop and wholefood cafe could be found, an island of nutrition in a sea of Spacedust and limeade. Their menus invariably featured at least one thing from the genuinely game-changing Cranks Recipe Book. Very often that was homity pie, a carb-heavy coming-together of potatoes, cream, cheese and pastry.

Even writing those words makes me simultaneously ravenous and keen to listen to ‘Sign of the Times’. Here is a gorgeous variation on its theme.”

Unlike. Mark Diacono I’m old enough to remember Cranks and the original homity pie and have always fancied making it. Here’s my - and your - chance!

Serves 4

For the pastry

250g (9oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting

pinch of salt

1 tsp caraway seeds, lightly cracked in a mortar and pestle

150g (5oz) butter

1 egg, beaten, plus extra for brushing

For the filling

500g (1lb 2oz) new potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1cm/1⁄2in thick)

30g (1oz) butter or extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1⁄2 smallish cauliflower, thinly sliced

150g (5oz) Cheddar, coarsely grated or crumbled small

1⁄4 freshly grated whole nutmeg

small bunch of chives, thinly sliced

250ml (9fl oz) double (heavy) cream

flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the flour, salt, caraway seeds and butter into a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and pulse until the mixture just comes together. (Alternatively, using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour and salt until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add the egg and mix to form a dough.) Bring the dough together with your hands and shape into a round. Wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes while you make the filling.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well and allow to dry.

Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for about 8–10 minutes until soft. Stir in the cauliflower, cover and cook for 5–10 minutes, stirring often until the cauliflower begins to soften. Add the potatoes and half the cheese.

Season the mix with the nutmeg, chives and some salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F.

Lightly flour the work surface, then roll out the pastry to fit a tart tin about 20cm (8in) in diameter. The pastry should be around 4mm (1⁄4in) thick. Leave the edges of the pastry bigger than the tin, as it will shrink a little during cooking. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork and line with baking parchment. Fill with baking beans (pie weights) and blind bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the parchment and beans from the case, brush the pastry with a little beaten egg and return to the oven for 10 minutes until the pastry is golden. Trim the edges of the pastry with a sharp knife, then turn the oven down to 170°C/150°C fan/340°F.

Spoon the filling mixture evenly into the tart case and pour over the cream. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake in the hot oven for 35–40 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the filling is set and lightly golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes or so before cutting into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

What to drink: I’m immediately thinking of a dry or medium dry craft cider rather than wine with this - but you could equally well drink a full flavoured smooth white like a chenin blanc, white Côte du Rhône or a good Soave.

VEGAN: Use shop-bought pastry (most brands are vegan) and sprinkle the caraway over it before blind baking; use plant-based cheese, butter and cream.

GF: Use GF flour or shop-bought gluten-free pastry sprinkled with caraway seeds.

SEASONAL SWAPS: Try Broccoli and Romanesco in place of the cauliflower.

Extracted from Vegetables by Mark Diacono published by Quadrille at £27. Photo © Mark Diacono. 

For other cauliflower pairings see this post.

Tomato and tapenade tart

The most perfect Provençal-style summer tart from Alex Jackson's evocative book Sardine, named after his former London restaurant

Alex writees: This tart is extremely simple. Given the right tomatoes, it’s a highlight of the summer table. At Sardine, we wait until the heavy, deep-coloured Amalfi bull’s heart tomatoes are in season and throw over some datterini or small plum tomatoes to fill in the gaps. A sprinkling of fragrant basil at the end is essential, as well as a drizzle of your best olive oil. Nyons olives make amazing tapenade, but any soft black olives will do nicely.

Tomato & Tapenade Tart

Makes 1 large tart (enough for 4 people for lunch or lots of small squares for a party)

For the tart:

4 bull’s heart tomatoes

1 x 500-g/1lb 2-oz block of pre-rolled puff pastry

A handful of small Italian plum tomatoes, red and yellow if possible

Olive oil

1 bunch of basil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tapenade:

100g/3 1⁄2oz black olives, drained of any brine or oil and pitted

1⁄8 garlic clove, peeled and crushed to a fine paste

1⁄2 tsp picked thyme leaves

1 salted anchovy fillet, washed and patted dry

1 tsp salted capers, soaked well, washed and drained

1 tsp brandy

4 tsp olive oil

1 tsp red wine vinegar

First, slice the bull’s heart tomatoes into thick 1-cm/1⁄2-inch rounds. Transfer to a sieve (strainer) suspended over a bowl and season well with salt. Leave the tomatoes for a good half hour to allow the juices to drip into the bowl. This will prevent your pastry becoming soggy if the tomatoes hold a lot of juice.

To make the tapenade, put all the dry ingredients in a blender. Blitz well.

Add the wet ingredients and blitz further until everything is fully incorporated.

The tapenade should be very smooth.

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

Next, roll out – or simply unfurl, if pre-rolled – the pastry to a rectangle to fit your largest, flat, heavy-based baking tray. Cut a rectangle of parchment paper to the same size, then place the pastry on top. Score a 2-cm/3⁄4-inch border all around the edges of the pastry. This pastry border will puff up around the filling.

Put the baking tray (without the pastry) in the oven to pre-heat for 10 minutes.

To assemble the tart, top the pastry inside the scored border with a generous smearing of tapenade. Arrange the sliced tomatoes in a single layer over the tapenade. Halve the small tomatoes, season with salt, and use them to fill any gaps. Drizzle the tart filling with olive oil and grind over some black pepper.

Remove the hot tray from the oven, slide in the tart on the parchment paper and return the tray to the oven. Bake the tart for 30 minutes, or until the pastry borders are puffed and crisp, the base is a light golden brown (lift the tart tentatively with a spatula to check) and the tomatoes are soft, squidgy and just started to take on a little colour.

Remove the tart from the oven, season lightly with a little flaky sea salt and black pepper, and scatter over the torn basil leaves. Allow the tart to cool on its tray, then slice into squares while still just warm. Drizzle with your best olive oil before serving.

What to drink: a Provençal rosé would be the obvious match with this summery tart but you could also enjoy a crisp white like a Vermentino or a Picpoul de Pinet.

Extracted from Sardine: Simple seasonal Provençal cooking by Alex Jackson, published by Pavilion Books. Photograph © Matt Russell

Charred Tomatoes with Cool Yoghurt, Pomegranate Molasses and Herbs

An irresistibly more-ish recipe from Helen Graves brilliant book Live Fire which you can also cook on a cast iron griddle

Helen writes: I have made, and will continue to make, many iterations of this tomato and yoghurt arrangement. It’s so, so good. Hot, charred tomatoes in a pomegranate molasses dressing are tumbled on top of cool yoghurt, straight from the fridge. A plate of glorious contrasts.

You may not want to use all the dressing, but personally I love the way it pools into the yoghurt. Obviously, you will want fresh flatbreads or toasted sourdough to really make the most of this.

Setup: Direct cooking

Equipment: Tongs

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Serves: 4

1 garlic clove, crushed

300 g (10½ oz/scant 1¼ cups) natural full-fat yoghurt

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) cherry tomatoes on the vine

handful of mint leaves, chopped

large handful of basil leaves, torn

handful of pomegranate seeds

Dressing

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

2 teaspoons za’atar (there's a recipe in the book if you want to make your own)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

3 tablespoons lemon juice

sea salt

— Prepare a barbecue for direct cooking over medium heat.

— Combine the dressing ingredients with a pinch of salt in a clean lidded jar or bowl and shake or whisk to combine.

Set aside.

— Combine the crushed garlic, yoghurt and a pinch of salt in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

— Grill the tomatoes over direct heat for about 5 minutes until charred and soft.

— To serve, spread the garlic yoghurt on a plate. Remove the grilled tomatoes from the vine and combine with the herbs in a bowl. Add two-thirds of the dressing and mix gently.

— Top the yoghurt with the tomato mixture and pour the remaining dressing on top. Add another drizzle of olive oil, a scattering of pomegranate seeds and some more salt, if you like.

To Cook Indoors: Preheat a cast-iron griddle pan over a high heat for at least 5 minutes and use it to char the tomatoes. You could also cook them under the grill – just make sure they get nice and black in places.

What to drink: You'd be unlikely to be having this on its own I suspect but a crisp white like a sauvignon blanc, a dry rosé or a light red like a frappato would all work well.

From Live Fire by Helen Graves, published by Hardie Grant at £26. Photography by Rob Billington

Bhutte ka kees with prawns

This recipe comes from winemaker Corlea Fourie. It’s like a spicy, corn porridge which she and her husband Bertus serve with grilled prawns as part of a braai (barbecue)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 3-4 (multiply as needed)

Ingredients:

• 3 large corn cobs
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger piece grated
• Pinch of asafoetida
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• grated fresh coconut for garnishing
• Salt to taste

12 large raw shell and head-on prawns

Method:

1. Remove the husk from the corn cobs and grate the kernels or cut them off with a sharp knife and pulse them in a food processor. (You could also use frozen corn.)
2. Heat the ghee in a cast iron pan on medium flame. Add mustard seeds to it. Once the seeds splutter, add the cumin seeds and allow them to crackle. Next tip in the green chilies and grated ginger. Sauté for few seconds. Now move to cooler coals and add asafoetida and turmeric powder.
3. Add the grated or chopped corn along with their milk, if any. Mix well and stir-fry the corn mixture on low flame for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add coconut milk to the corn mixture followed by salt and sugar. Mix well and cover the cooking mixture for 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring the mixture in between to ensure the mixture has the right consistency.
5. Lastly, add lemon juice to the bhutte ka kees and garnish it with fresh coriander leaves and grated coconut.
6. Brush or spray the shell-on prawns lightly with oil and grill then on the barbecue for about 4-5 minutes until pink, turning them half way through*. Place them on top of the bhutte ka Kees to serve. Garnish each plate with fresh coriander leaves and grated coconut.

*you could also cook them in a wok

What to drink: Corlea suggests an orange wine, their 2019 Fides skin contact grenache blanc which you can buy from Woodwinters. An old vine chenin blanc or chardonnay would work well too.