Saturday, 16 January 2010

Roast Carrot Tart with Toasted Walnut Pesto




Roast Carrot Tart with Toasted Walnut Pesto


Makes a 20 cm tart.

110 g plain flour
50 g butter, cut into cubes
1 egg yolk
pinch salt
500 g carrots, plus about a few small ones for top
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ lemon

150 ml double cream
6 egg yolks

For the pesto
50g walnut halves
1 Bunch Flat leaf parsley, leaves removed
200ml extra virgin olive oil
50 g finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino, (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper


Preheat oven 200 C. Cut the carrots (no need to peel) in half lengthwise and tip into a large roasting tin. Pull the thyme leaves off of their stalks and add to the carrots with the oil, whole garlic cloves and season with salt and pepper. Add a half a cup of water and toss together well and roast for 20-25 minutes tossing occasionally. Remove from oven and squeeze over the juice from the lemon half.

To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour with a pinch of salt. Add the egg yolk and enough water to make a dough. Roll out the pastry thinly then line and trim a 20 cm tin.

Once the carrots are cooked,  reduce the oven temperature to 180 C. Bake the tart case blind for 15-20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature again to 170 C.

To make the pesto, place the walnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 5-10  minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool. Place the parsley leaves and toasted walnuts into a food processor with a little of the oil and whiz until roughly chopped. You want it quite rough in texture. Scrape into a bowl and stir in the remaining oil, cheese (if using) and season well with salt and black pepper.


Pop the garlic flesh out of their papery cases into a food processor with the carrots, (keeping 6 halves for the top) and puree well. Add the cream and egg yolks, whiz again then sieve.

Pour into pastry case and arrange remaining carrots arranged on top cut side up Bake for 30-40 minutes or until only just set.
Shown here above with Beetroot and Celeriac Gratin.








No comments:

Post a Comment