The Dark Chocolate Tart offers a luxurious comfort food experience with a rich chocolate filling in crisp pastry, best served with crème fraiche. Key elements for success include using high-quality chocolate (70%-75% cocoa), a properly prepared pastry shell, and careful technique to achieve a silky texture. Testing baking times is advisable.
These Asian Salmon Samosas are a quick, flavorful twist on the Indian classic. Made with salmon, ginger, garlic, and spices, they feature crispy filo pastry and can be paired with a chili and tomato jam. The samosas can be prepared in advance, ensuring a delightful and fragrant dish.
Making a Blind Baked Pastry Tart is not an overly arduous process. But following a few basic steps will ensure success. This is quite a long explanation but is worth the effort in reading all the way through.
Here we are using a loose bottomed tart tin suitable to serve six to eight people. You can of course use the same technique for smaller tins or as an alternative use perforated tart rings. You can find the method for working with those in our post, How to use Perforated Tart Rings.
I would always recommend baking using metal tins and rings for blind baking. Silicone containers can also a be used for general baking. But I think the robustness of metal gives a more reliable result for tarts and flans. I’m not a fan of ceramic quiche or flan dishes. The material is too thick for fast heat transfer. And it’s very difficult to remove the finish article from the dish.
For deeper robust tarts I like to use a 23cm x 3cm loose bottomed tart shell. The ones made by masterclass are excellent quality and will last for years.
Baking sheets should be robust enough not to bend or warp in the oven. An increasing number of chefs are using perforated baking sheets or baking mats. These allow the hot air to circulate around the pastry more efficiently.
Remember all ovens are different, some run a little hotter some cooler. Some ovens they will have one side hotter than the other. This requires you to turn the food around to even out the cooking.
Trust yourself, you know your oven better that anybody. Don’t be a slave to a recipe – even mine!
If you find your food over colouring turn the oven down a little. And if you need to turn the food around. Do it quickly without leaving the oven door open for ages.
Now we have our pastry well chilled, but if you’re trying to use any pastry in a hot kitchen or at home on a warm summer’s day it’s a great help to chill anything in contact with the pastry.
Work surfaces can be cooled by placing a baking tray where to plan to roll out and throwing some ice cubes into the tray.as they melt it will cool the work surface. Make sure you dry off the surface before you begin. While the surface is cooling pop the rolling pin into the fridge to cool down. I prefer to use a polypropylene pin that is easy to keep clean but also will stay chilled for ages it left in the fridge overnight.
Down to work. Lightly flour the work surface and place your pastry in the centre. Begin to roll gently with the pin, turning around the pastry as you go to even out the stress. Keep rolling and turning dusting with a pinch of flour if needed but don’t use handfuls of it.
Once you have a circle of pastry large enough to fill the tart shell and about 5mm thick roll the pastry around the pin. Bring up the tart tin then carefully unroll the pastry allowing it to drop into the shell tacking care not to cut the pastry off on the edges of the tin.
Take a small piece of spare dough and wrap it in cling film. Use this to press the dough down into the corners of the shell and around the fluted edges. Your fingers will cut through the pastry, but the soft ball of dough will gently form the pastry to the shape of the shell.
If the tart is to be filled with a custard base like a lemon tart don’t remove the excess pastry from the top but carefully fold it over the rim on the outside. This will stop the pastry shrinking down inside the rim during baking and prevent any liquid seeping down between the cooked shall and the tin when the tart is filled for its second bake.
If the shell is to be filled with a firmer filling after baking trim off the excess pastry and pinch up the rim with the fingertips to fix it to the top of the tin. As soon as the tart is completed place it into the fridge to rest for at least an hour before baking.
Its frequent practice in commercial kitchens to use several layers of PVC free cling film to line the shell before adding weight to hold the pastry down. It works very well and produces very neat straight sides as the film moulds to the shape of the shell and keeps pressure on the pastry preventing it from lifting or swelling while in the oven. If your pastry shell is to have a dry or thick filling added, you can lightly prick the base with a fork to release steam. If, however, if you’re using a thin custard like filling, I would avoid this as the filling may leak though to the meatal shell and weld the pastry to the shell.
However, the court is out relating to the possibility of plasticiser leaching into the pastry with the heat of the oven. The film won’t melt it, needs a bit over 200˚c to do that, and we are generally baking at about 175˚c – 180˚c. Commercial film is stronger and thicker than the type to use at home and with the possible plasticiser problem I recommend using greaseproof paper at home.
Before we get to the next steps turn on the oven , we are going to bake at 170ºc -180º (fan) 185˚c – 200˚c conventional. But, I want you to turn the oven up another 20˚c. Then place your baking sheet into the oven to heat up.
Cut off a square of greaseproof at least 6cm larger than the diameter of the tart tin. Fold it in half then turn 90º and fold in half again to form a square. Find the corner of the square that was the centre of the sheet. Hold the corner between finger and thumb then fold the opposite end of the paper over a little like making a paper plane.
Keep repeating the folds until you have a thick wedge shape. Now using scissors trim the open end of the paper wedge in a curve to remove all the loose sections. Open out the paper and with any luck you will have a circle of greaseproof large that the pastry shell.
Before using the paper to line the shell scrunch it up in your hands. In fact, it’s best to squash and crush it two or three times before use. The idea is to make the paper a forgiving as possible and mould itself to the pastry without forming gaps or cutting through the pastry.
Take the lined tart shell and carefully place the paper on top of the pastry. Press the paper into the corners of the shell and add some weight into the paper to hold the pastry down.
Personal preference here is simply to use dried peas, they are cheap, work well and can be re-used many times. Ceramic baking beans don’t do a better job and cost a fortune and please don’t use rice! Some people advocate rice, but I think it’s a nightmare. It’s difficult to remove the rice neatly with the paper after baking, it falls all over the place. Also, and more importantly it can find its way between the paper and the pastry during filling. If that happens the rice sinks into the pastry during baking and is exceedingly difficult to remove. Fine if you like crunchy pastry!
When you are ready to bake open the oven and slide the tart shell onto the pre-heated baking sheet. Turn the oven down to the correct baking temperature and set a timer for 12 minutes.
The idea is quite simple, the act of opening the door and putting in the tart cools the oven down this means the pastry begins to cook at the correct temperature, not sitting in to cool an oven and melting before beginning to set.
If we put the tart into the oven on a cold tray it will take ages for the base of the tart to heat though and again it will be soft, and none of want a soggy bottom, do we….
After the 12 minutes remove the tray from the oven and SHUT THE DOOR. Carefully lift one edge of the paper and have a look at the base of the tart. If it looks uncooked return the tray to the oven for 3-4 minutes more. If the pastry looks cooked but moist lift the paper and beans out of the tart the return it to the oven for another 3 minutes to dry the base.
If you are baking the tart to be used with a liquid filling, like a lemon and lime tart, or my Walnut and Apricot Tart. It’s a good idea to brush the inside of the pastry with an egg yolk beaten with a dash of water before returning the tart to the oven. Its also a good idea to leave the pastry overlap on until the filling is set
The egg yolk will seal any small holes in the pastry and make the pasty resistant to moisture. This will prevent a possible disaster from the filling leaking out, and also keep the pastry crisper for longer.
If your filling is not likely to flow over the edges of the tart, like my Glazed dark Chocolate Tart. Remove the overlapping pastry before filling. To do this, run the blade of a small knife across the top edge of the tin. Work outwards and don’t try to do too much at once. As you shave the top of the pastry the overlap will fall off onto the baking tray.
Don’t waste it! The excess pastry make a great dunking biscuit for the chef’s coffee break.
And bingo… you should have a Blind Baked Pastry Tart to fill or use as you wish. This process is the same for large or small individual tarts give it a go.
Enjoy life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
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©John Webber2025
Black Olive Tapenade is a spread that bursts with flavour and originates from the Provence region of France. Using simple ingredients, olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil you can create a spread is right up there in the flavour steaks. The anchovies provide an umami / briny hit to the taste, but not all Tapenade recipes use them.
The Expresso Crème Caramels combine creamy sweetness with a touch of bitterness from perfectly cooked caramel. This dish tests cooking skills while allowing for stress-free preparation ahead of time. Key ingredients include espresso, sugar, milk, cream, and eggs, with careful steps needed for making caramel and custard to achieve a delightful dessert.
Egyptian Dukkha is a mixture of nuts and spices often eaten as a dip with bread moistened with olive oil. But it’s not a one trick pony. It can be used as a crusty coating for grilled fish, or try it as a finishing sprinkle on roasted vegetables, soups or hummus.
The name refers to the Arabic term for pounding, and the mix is made by pounding roasted nuts, and spices together in a mortar and pestle. You can of course use a small food processor in place of a mortar, but remember, It should be in crushed but not powdered.
In Egypt it is served at breakfast time, as an appetiser, or as a snack in the evening. It is a very personal and individual mixture that varies from one family to another. I like to serve this with bread sticks and a bowl of olive oil with pre-dinner drinks. Its quite addictive, give it a try!
In a small frying pan gently toast the hazel nuts, The object is to lightly roast the nuts to release the flavours but be careful not to burn them. As soon as the skins begin to split, they are ready. Tip the hazelnuts onto a clean tea towel, fold the cloth over and rub the nuts together in the cloth. This will remove the bitter skins leaving just the roasted nuts. Pick the cleaned hazelnuts off the cloth and place them onto a metal tray to cool down.
Place the pan back onto the heat and roast the almonds followed by the sesame seeds. As each is ready tip them onto the metal tray with the hazelnuts. Watch the sesame seeds as they burn easily.
Now it’s time to toast the spices. Add the coriander, fennel seeds and black peppercorns into the pan together. When they are ready you may see a light fragrant haze (not smoke) appearing from the pan. As soon as they are ready tip them onto a second metal tray to cool down. Keeping the spices separate from the nuts makes the crushing easier.
Once everything has cooled down, we can blend the mix together. Pour the spices into the mortar and begin to pound them together. Remember this is not a spice blend so don’t get carried away.
When the spices are broken down add the rest of the ingredients to the mortar along with the salt. Start to pound again until everything is finely crushed, but not pulverized.
If you don’t own a mortar and pestle, The crushing can be done in a mincer or an electric blender, but don’t overdo it or the oils from the nuts and seeds will form a paste running the blend.
Dukkha should always be a crushed dry mixture, and definitely not a paste.
Once ready the Dukkha be stored for a few weeks in an air-tight screw-top jar. If you have any leftover or need to store it longer, keep it in a sealed plastic box in the freezer. It should be fine for up to two months.
Enjoy Life.
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
©John Webber2025
These Garlic and Za’atar Knots are a tear and come again treat. Perfect for a get together and irresistible after the first bite. When you think of feta cheese, a Greek salad of filo pastry pie might come to mind. But I bet you didn’t think it could become a dip!
This Cheese, and Rosemary Christmas Tree is a terrific addition to any Christmas party, and best of all its quick and easy to make. Use it to form a centrepiece for your party table. Each branch of the ‘tree’ breaks off to become a cheese straw ready to be dipped into a suitable sauce. I like to use my Tomato and Chilli jam as a dip. But it could be anything you like.
Bacon and Avocado Wedges make an interesting party snack that is quick to both make, and serve.
Most people only think of avocado ether in a salad or as a support for prawns. They are much more versatile than that. This recipe makes use of classic flavours that marry well with avocado, bacon, garlic, lemon, and basil.
The Aioli is a simplified version of the classic French sauce. Don’t worry, no frantic crushing or beating needed, we are using ready-made mayonnaise. A small food processor or hand blender is all you need.
Make the wedges a little time ahead, then store them in the fridge. A quick blast in the air fryer is all that’s needed and you’re ready to serve. I have served these alongside my Cheese, and Rosemary Christmas Tree as the two go together brilliantly.
For the Basil Aioli
The finished wedges can be stored in the fridge ready for cooking. They will be fine prepared in the morning to be cooked in the evening. But I wouldn’t recommend making them the day before as the avocado may start to discolour.
Take the avocados and cut each one in half longways from the stem downwards, then remove the stone. Take care when doing this, it’s a very simple process, but one of the most common ways that people cut themselves.
To remove the skin, start at the pointed end of each half and peel the skin back towards the base of the pear. Hass avocados if you can find them are the best for this. But the skin on this type of avocado is thick and hard so you will find it will come off in chunks rather than strips.
Once peeled take each half and rub with the half of lemon. This will lightly flavour the avocado, and also help prevent them from discolouring.
Take each half of avocado cut side down on the chopping board. Holding the knife at an angle cut the each half of avocado into three equal wedges.
Do use good quality dry cure bacon for this. The cheaper waterlogged versions will give you a disappointing result.
Take a slice of bacon and place it on the chopping board. Stretch the rasher out by using the back of your knife and drawing down the length of the bacon.
Place a wedge of avocado at one end of the rasher, then tightly roll the wedge in the bacon. Start at one side of the wedge and let the travel down the wedge overlapping each turn slightly.
Peel and chop the garlic, sprinkle the salt on top and using the flat of the knife crush the garlic to a paste. Place the paste into a suitable jug and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Leave the jug to stand for five minutes. The lemon juice will react with the garlic and take away some of the harshness from the flavour.
Add the mayonnaise to the jar. Then take the basil and pick the leaves off the stem adding them to the jar. Keep one or two leaves to act as a garnish when serving.
Using the hand blender in a up and down motion, blend the contents of the jar together. As everything is crushed together the Aioli will take on an appealing pastil green colour. When everything is ready remove the blender, scarping off as much sauce as possible. Cover the jar with cling film and store in the fridge.
Organise your serving dish and spoon the Aioli into a dish wide enough to let people dip the wedges into the sauce with ease. Set the air fryer to ‘air fry’ at a temperature of 210˚c .
Take the avocado wedges and lightly brush or spray with olive oil. All you need is a very light coating, don’t overdo it.
Set the wedges onto a cooking rack leaving a gap between each one and start the cooking. They should only take 7-8 minutes according to your air fryer.
Of course, if you don’t have an air fryer you can use a convection oven. Make sure the over is completely pre heated and the temperature is cranked up as high as it will go. That’s about 240˚c on most ovens.
When the avocado wedges are ready the bacon should be crisp and golden. And the avocado will have taken a little colour to the edges.
Arrange the wedges around the Aioli and serve at once.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
The ubiquitous Brussel Sprout must be the largest topic of discussion at the Christmas dinner table. Love them or hate them they are here to stay so why not make them the biggest hit of the meal.
Make a Christmas Stollen this year and forgo the heavy Christmas cake!
The Stollen, is a German fruit bread made with yeast, and contains dried fruits, candied citrus peel, nuts and spices. Traditionary marzipan is folded into the dough before baking. If that’s not to your taste, it can easily be left out of the recipe.
Harissa Paste is a condiment originating from Tunisia and one of those flavours that once tasted, you become hooked on. If you like spicy, rich flavours, then this is a must-have ingredient in your kitchen. Its tones of fragrant spices, together with the kick of chilli, place it firmly in my top 12 store cupboard ingredients. This recipe uses peppers as well as chilli to make a more refined, smother paste than all chilli versions.
Most people will be familiar with Harissa stirred though cous-cous, but its uses stretch far beyond that. It makes a great marinade for meat or fish, particularly for the barbeque. Try a spoonful in a tomato sauce or a lamb stew, or simply stir it into some mayonnaise to make a summertime picnic dressing. The ubiquitous Prawn Cocktail can be given a sneaky edge with a little Harissa mixed into the sauce before adding the prawns.
A great cheat is to add it to a shop bought item like Coleslaw or Hummus. Your guest will assume you have been busy in the kitchen all day. Just remember to hide the containers or the game will be up!
Beware though, once you start using harissa it becomes additive. The good news is that it freezes well so you can always have it on hand. Its one of my Top 12 Seasonings, see the rest of them HERE.
Let me explain this with a short story. Some years ago, when perfecting the recipe, I thought it would be a clever idea to buy a ready – made version to compare the flavours. So, we when to a supermarket and bought a well-known leading brand of harissa and performed a taste test.
Well, putting it simply, the bought version was flat and lacked any of the characteristics of a good harissa. Been a bit puzzled I checked out the ingredients list on the container, and what do you think was the main ingredient? Peppers? Chilli? Even tomato? No, it was carrots!
I think today things might have improved, but it’s still better to make your own. You have the ability to tune the recipe to your own liking, hotter or milder Some people like to add some roasted and ground caraway seeds, its up to you. You’re in control.
Traditionally the peppers would be roasted in the coals of an open fire. This not only cooks the pepper buy also allow the skin to be removed easily. During the process, the flesh of the pepper takes on a smoky flavour which enhances the paste immensely. I also use a little smoked paprika in the recipe to capitalise on the flavour.
This is a bit messy, but this is about 80% of the work in making the paste.
If you cook on gas its easy, just place the pepper over an open gas flame turning it with a pair of tongs. Have some clingfilm on hand, and once the pepper is black all over, wrap it in the clingfilm. Don’t be put off by the colour thinking the pepper is ruined. The black is only the skin, which we will remove. Repeat this for the second pepper, them leave them to cool completely. Some people like to roast the chillies as well, I just use the smoked paprika instead.
Now I don’t have gas, so I use a picnic stove backed up by a blowtorch. It works fine, as long as it’s not raining!
Once the peppers have cooled, we get to the messy bit. You will see that the peppers have collapsed a little as they cooked, and there will be some liquid sitting inside the flesh. Keeping the film in place slice down one side of the pepper and open it up a little. Cut off the stem, and you will be able to open the pepper right out to a flat sheet. Flip the pepper over using the film to lift off as much of the black skin as possible. The rest of the black skin can simply be scraped off with the back of a knife. Don’t worry about a few bits of black still adhering to the flesh, it’s all flavour.
Cut the stems from the chillies, split them open and remove the seeds and the white membrane holding them. Peel the garlic, and crush using the salt to make a smooth paste.
Add the chillies and garlic to a small food processor, followed by the peppers.
Add the tomato puree, salt, and spices to the machine, then process the contents to a smooth paste. Lift off the lid then work in the olive oil and lemon juice into the paste. Have a taste, it should linger in the mouth with each individual flavour coming through. If its not spicy enough for you, add a little cayenne pepper into the mix.
The paste will keep a week in the fridge. Store it in a covered jar with a little olive oil covering the surface of the paste. I always keep some in the freezer, Ice cube trays are ideal for freezing. The cubes can then be stored in a freezer bag or box. If you need to make the paste, double the recipe so you have some to freeze. Double the joy, and you only have to clean up once!
By wrapping the pepper in the film, the heat is retained, and the pepper will cook from within. This is also a wonderful way of preparing peppers for use in a salad or stuffing as well. If you object to the cling film, you can put the peppers into a plastic bag. Its not quite as good, but should work.
Rose Harissa is similar to a standard Harissa bit a little milder. The paste is made with the addition of rose water and rose petals to add a floral fragrance. If you would like to make some, there is a great recipe ‘HERE‘
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Making Sweet Pickled Cucumber is a great way of using up excess cucumber and giving a rather bland food an enticing lift.
These Scottish Venison Meatballs are so easy to make, and much better that the shop-bought versions. To go with them I’m making a mushroom and whisky sauce to toss through buttered Tagliatelle. The dish uses ingredients abundant in the Scottish countryside, perfect for autumntime when a variety of wild mushrooms are available to use.