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

Plum and Frangipane Tart

If you feel like baking this weekend here's a recipe from Christine McFadden's massively useful book Flour, a guide to how to use all the many new flours on the market.

I particularly like the fact that it's billed as an ingredient book rather than a gluten-free book which emphasises the fact it's about taste and texture rather than any particularly dietary regime.

This recipe is made from pea flour. Christine writes:

"Yellow pea flour makes the most beautiful melt-in-the-mouth pastry. It’s gluten-free and wonderful to work with. Crimson plums set off the rich yellow colour. The idea for the filling came from my food writer friend Lesley Mackley, who does a lovely version with pears instead of plums.

Serves 6–8

vegetable oil for greasing

6 ripe red plums

caster sugar for sprinkling

4 tablespoons melted quince, redcurrant or apricot jelly, to glaze

for the pastry

160g (5¾oz) yellow pea flour

2 tablespoons icing sugar

100g (3½oz) cold unsalted butter, roughly chopped

1½ tablespoons thick plain yogurt

1½ tablespoons beaten egg

for the frangipane

75g (2¾oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

125g (4½oz) caster sugar

1 large egg, organic or free range

1 large egg yolk, organic or free-range

1 tablespoon brandy or amaretto liqueur (optional)

125g (4½oz) ground almonds

First make the pastry. Sift the pea flour and icing sugar then tip into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse briefly until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the yogurt and egg, then pulse in short bursts until the mixture begins to clump. Be careful not to overwork the dough.

Tip the dough on to a well-floured surface. Roll into a ball, then flatten into a 12cm (4½in) disc, ready for rolling out. Wrap in greaseproof paper and chill for 30 minutes.

For the frangipane, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric whisk for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the whole egg, followed by the yolk.

Finally add the brandy, if you’re using it, and the ground almonds. Mix well to combine, then set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Put a baking tray in to heat. Grease the base and sides of a 24.5x2.5cm (9¾x1in) fluted metal tart tin, making sure the sides are well lubricated. Line the base with a circle of baking parchment and grease the paper too.

Once the dough is chilled, remove from the fridge. Dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out the pastry to a thin 30cm (12in) circle. Carefully drape it over your rolling pin and lower it into the tin. Press the side of your index finger into the edge to even out the thickness. Trim the top with a small sharp knife. Spoon the frangipane into the pastry case, smoothing the surface with a spatula.

Slice the plums in half lengthways and remove the stone. Slice each half lengthways into four segments. Starting from the outer edge of the tart, arrange a double row of overlapping segments in four north-south-east-west ‘spokes’, leaving a quadrant of uncovered frangipane between each spoke. Make an attractive rosette of slices where the spokes meet. Sprinkle the plums with caster sugar.

Bake for 35–40 minutes, rotating the tin halfway through. Cover the edges with foil if they brown too much. Remove from the oven and leave to settle in the tin for 20 minutes.

Carefully ease the tart out of the tin and slide on to a serving plate. Brush with the melted jelly and serve warm or at room temperature.

What to drink: a simple fruit tart like this is a good foil for a wide variety of dessert wines. I'd go for a sweet Bordeaux like Sauternes or a similar one from one of the neighbouring appellations - Monbazillac is particularly good value.

Extract taken from Flour by Christine McFadden (Absolute Press, £26) out now

Photography © Mike Cooper

Asparagus and ricotta tart with herb pastry

This unusual quiche comes from Great British Bakeoff star Flora Shedden's really charming cookbook Gatherings

Flora writes: "This tart is a beautiful fresh spring bake. It is much lighter than a traditional quiche due to the mixture of ricotta and crème fraîche.

You can use dried herbs, but I really recommend having pots of fresh ones dotted around the house. They are easy to maintain and really lift dishes like this.

The pastry can be used in any savoury tart or quiche for something a bit different to a regular shortcrust.

For the pastry

100g (3½oz) cold unsalted butter, cubed
150g (5½oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
40g (1½oz) wholemeal flour
10g (¼oz) cornflour
2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs (such as basil, thyme and sage)
2–4 tablespoons milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the filling

250g (9oz) asparagus, chopped diagonally into thirds
100g (3½oz) peas or shelled broad beans
200g (7oz) ricotta cheese
100ml (3½fl oz) milk
100g (3½oz) crème fraiche
2 eggs
3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (such as parsley, chives, mint)
75g (2¾oz) spring onions, finely sliced
75g (2¾oz) Parmesan cheese, grated
50g (1¾oz) pine nuts
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the garnish
chopped fresh herbs (such as purple basil, parsley and chives), optional

Put all the ingredients for the pastry bar the milk in a food processor. Blitz until combined, then blitz in the milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Alternatively, rub the butter into the flours until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, stir in the herbs, gradually add the milk, then knead gently until the mixture comes together. Once the pastry dough is smooth, wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate for a minimum of 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF), Gas Mark 4.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the asparagus pieces for no more than 3 minutes. Scoop them out of the water and immediately plunge them into a bowl of cold water. Cook the peas or broad beans in the same water for no more than 1 minute. Drain and add these to the cold water.

In a bowl, whisk the ricotta, milk, crème fraîche, eggs, herbs and some seasoning together.

Roll out the pastry dough on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 2–3mm (¹⁄16–¹⁄8 inch). Transfer the dough to a 23cm (9 inch) loose-bottomed tart tin and gently press it into the edges of the tin. Run the rolling pin across the top edges of the tin to cut away the overhanging pastry.

Drain the vegetables and pat them dry. Scatter the sliced spring onion over the pastry with half the grated Parmesan. Now add the vegetables, reserving a few of the asparagus tips. Carefully pour the egg mixture on top. Don’t worry if the vegetables all move around – this is fine.

Top with the remaining grated cheese, the pine nuts and the reserved asparagus tips. Bake for 35–45 minutes until the filling is set and the pastry is golden brown. Garnish with a sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs, then serve.

What to drink: A Loire sauvignon blanc like Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé would be perfect with this. Or an English Bacchus white wine.

From Gatherings by Flora Shedden which is published by Mitchell Beazley at £25 (www.octopusbooks.co.uk). Image © Laura Edwards.