Broad Bean, Pea, Baby Leeks & Asparagus Tartlets Recipes from Suzanne James | www.suzannejames.co.uk Method
This is a lovely spring recipe, great as a starter when entertaining, or just enjoyed as a weekend lunch, it tastes as good as it looks and I especially like it because it uses lots of ingredients from our allotment – spinach, chard, mint, broad beans, leeks and if I am lucky I may be given a little bit of asparagus by one of my fellow plot holders – Hurrah! It is also an easy recipe to adapt according to the ingredients you have to hand, and I tend to use ready-made pastry because it makes it so quick and easy. Serves 4 People Cooking time 30-40 Minutes
Ingredients • 320g Ready-rolled Puff Pastry • 200g Spinach or Rainbow chard • 1 Pack of garlic & herb cream cheese such as Boursin or Philadelphia • 1 Bunch fresh chopped mint • 1 Lemon – juice & zest • Glug of Olive Oil • Handful of blanched broad beans • Handful of peas • Baby Leeks • Asparagus • Grated Parmesan to serve 14 | SE21 - May 2021
1) Heat the oven to 2800C / 1800C Fan / Gas 6. Unroll the ready-rolled puff pastry onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper. Cut the sheet into 4 equal rectangles. Using the tip of a sharp knife, score a 1cm border inside each pastry rectangle. Prick the centres all over with a fork. 2) Bake the pastry for 30-40 minutes until golden and crisp – keep an eye on it as it cooks, you want it to be golden brown. 3) Meanwhile, boil a kettle of water, put the spinach in a colander and pour over the water. Rinse with cold water, then put into a clean J-cloth and squeeze out as much water as possible. Put the spinach into a blender/processor with the cream cheese, chopped mint and the lemon juice. Whizz until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. 4) Heat a glug of olive oil in a two frying pans. In one cook the broad beans and peas, in the other the baby leeks & asparagus. Gently fry until softened. 5) Let the cooked pastry cases cool a little, then spread the cream cheese mixture over the centre of each one. 6) Spring the peas and beans over the top, then add the leeks and asparagus. 7) Dress with grated parmesan and lemon zest.
In Season This Month Fruits & Nuts - Cherries, Elderflowers, Rhubarb Vegetables & Herbs - Asparagus, Broccoli, Carrots, Lettuce, New Potatoes, Radishes, Rocket, Sorrel, Spinach, Spring Onions, Watercress Meat & Game - Lamb, Wood Pigeon Fish & Shellfish - Cod, Crab, Dover Sole, Halibut, John Dory, Lemon Sole, Plaice, Salmon, Sea Bass, Sea Trout Going out of season - Morel Mushrooms
