Summer Fruit Tarts is what!

This recipe is so old I can't remember when – probably as far back as 1986 ish.

Rich shortcrust pastry

as per the recipe given

Filling

250g mascarpone cheese

165g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp lemon juice

A selection of fresh fruit in season

prepped and sliced for decoration

strawberries, hulled and sliced finely, melon balls

kiwi, grapes and banana to name but a few ideas

Glaze

2 tbsp apricot jam, sieved

1 tbsp water

On a lightly floured board, roll out pastry thinly and cut into circles with a fluted 7cm cutter. Line two 12 tartlet trays – or place sweet shortcrust tart cases on a baking tray and prick bases. Bake at 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Beat together the mascarpone cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Place a tablespoon of cheese mixture in each tart.

Arrange the fruits decoratively over the top.

Heat the jam and water in a small saucepan over moderate heat until smooth. Brush over tarts and allow to set before serving.

The recipe for the filling will give you sufficient for 24 tarts – perfect for a summer party dessert. Halve the filling recipe for the 12 tart cases or double the pastry recipe if you're going for 24!

These tarts are small, which is great, the size of a jam tart, so perfectly poppable into the mouth.

Use whatever fruit takes your fancy or mix it up – my fancy was strawberries, it's worth the effort of hulling – the finished article looks like this :

 

If you don't like the idea of making pastry then a shortbread stack would work well. The mascarpone cream is good enough to stand alone – by that I mean it's delicious enough with a bowl of fresh fruit.

I took two pots of the cream, together with fresh strawberries, to my friend who has been on her own since the lockdown, despite our “distance” in her back garden it was worth it. I'm not sure who my friend was pleased to see more – me or the strawberries and cream!

By the way ...

By request … sweet shortcrust pastry

As a rule I don't get requests for pastry from H but, rules are meant to be broken as they say – and in particular a sweet version. Here's the recipe I used for my trial run :

The recipe makes enough to line a shallow

23cm/9 inch flan tin

Serves 8

115g/4oz plain flour

55g/2oz cold unsalted butter, diced

25g (a scant 1oz) icing sugar, sifted

1 egg yolk plus 1 tbsp cold water

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar.

Lightly beat the egg yolk with 1 tbsp of cold water. Add to the flour mixture and mix with a round-bladed knife. Gather together to make a soft dough.

Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.

Add 1 tsp pure vanilla extract to the beaten egg yolk and reduce the amount of water slightly – optional.

Bake at 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15 minutes or until they are golden in colour – leave to cool.

If you prefer individual tart cases then you'll get 12 based on using a cutter 7cms/2¾” in diameter from the recipe given. Prick the cases with a fork before baking.

After I'd rolled out the pastry I used my trusted tamper to ease the cases into the tin for an even shape.

What to do with the pastry now I've made it?

The veggie option – I know this works too

The classic vegetarian option was always a bowl of pasta with a nondescript tomato sauce poured over the top – lots of care and attention – NOT!

I like to make the best of what's available and in season and I think I did.

This recipe proved to be a hit and has been repeated more than once since – so much so I committed it to paper - even the most stalwart of carnivores enjoyed it. The other plus is that it stands on its own as a vegetarian dish but also lends itself as part of a larger menu.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

4/6 large Portobello Mushrooms

1 medium onion, finely chopped with a drop of rapeseed oil and a knob of butter

85g breadcrumbs (or if you want an alternative

use an 85g packet of sage & onion stuffing mix)

Garlic paste or 2 crushed cloves of garlic

50g pine nuts (chopped walnuts or chestnuts would also work well)

Small double cream - 150ml

75g each of grated

Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese

Red Leicester

Gruyere

Salt and black pepper

100/150g grated Parmesan

Pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/gas 6.

Soften the onion and garlic with the oil and butter.

Remove and discard the stalks and set the mushrooms aside on a baking tray. If the mushrooms wobble slice a thin layer from the bottom – that should do the trick.

Place the breadcrumbs or stuffing mix into a mixing bowl, add the softened onion and garlic together with the pine nuts. Gradually add double cream to the mixture, it should be stiff. Add the grated Cheddar, Red Leicester and Gruyere, season well with salt and black pepper.

Dampen your hands. Take a handful of mixture and work into a firm mound and pack into each mushroom.

Sprinkle grated parmesan over each mushroom.

Bake and check after 15 minutes – depends on the size of the mushrooms, they should be nicely browned.

And my final tip - you can use the mixture, with less cream, to achieve a crumble consistency and use as a topping for roasted vegetables or fish.

This dish is a treat, rich with cream and cheeses I know - it was meant to be. It's delicious, always providing you and your guests like mushrooms!

Coming next … by request – sweet pastry

I know this recipe works …

Over the years we've spent a lot of time in the USA – South Carolina in particular, where our best friend lives.

On one occasion we were expecting a houseful of visitors – the big kids were expecting friends from all over the place – by land and air and their plans involved copious amounts of alcohol!

My mission – should I choose to accept – was to feed them before they left for their evening of fun.

Problem 1

They were all arriving at different times, who knows when, so whatever I cooked had to be easily completed and wouldn't spoil by cooking ahead.

Problem 2

I don't know what they eat! We already had a combination of meat eaters and veggies so stick with the safe bet – chicken and a veggie option.

Problem 3

Whatever I cook has to be pulled together – fast!

Tarragon Chicken fits the bill. A tray of the chicken fillet cooked ahead, as per the recipe, not forgetting adding spare fillets – big kids have big appetites.

My “never fail” standby – a massive tray of roasties – part cooked along with another giant tray of roasted mixed veggies. The roasties will be a novelty for my US friends, they tend to serve mashed potatoes.

When I say massive trays I mean huge – 26”x18” and 21”x15” (66x46cms and 53x38cms). US ovens are twice the size of ours in the UK – thank goodness!

The roasties and the veggies can be finished off in the oven whilst I complete the vat of sauce on the stove, just the cream and seasoning to add.

I've never seen food vanish so quickly and off they went on their merry way. Happy hangover guys.

Phew – it's a good job I set aside enough for the old folks left behind – time for a gin!

I haven't forgotten I mentioned a veggie option – recipe up next.

Tarragon Chicken – hints and tips

What to serve with? Depends in the time of year and whether it's a “sit-down” lunch or a supper or dinner “do”.

As a main it's quite a rich dish so, if you're a lover of rice you could have a fried rice full of colour using all your favourite veggies – sliced mange tout, asparagus, corn, fresh peas, broad beans, whatever is in season.

Jersey Royals are in season at the moment – perfect in my opinion - having said that there are other good varieties of new potatoes available most of the year, Charlottes as an example.

You could create a “roast”. If you love your roasties then substitute for the Jerseys. A large tray of roasted veggies too – onions, fennel, carrots and parsnips and both can be part roasted ahead and then finished later.

How about Yorkshire Pudding – you may think I'm crazy but you'd be surprised how many people love it – with whatever else is served!

The other good news is that you can create exactly the same dish for vegetarians using veggie stock and suitable cream, then submerge Quorn fillets or Quorn pieces. Make the sauce and add the Quorn – it takes 12 minutes from frozen. You can get Vegan and Gluten Free versions too.

I think that's most of the boxes ticked!

Coming up … I know this recipe works

The Tarragon Chicken alternatives

If you prefer to plan ahead, slow cooking and then freezing the chicken breasts works well – all that's required is to defrost the cooked chicken and make the sauce. Don't forget to freeze the stock too!

For the slow cooking

4 large chicken breasts

drop of Rapeseed/Canola oil and a knob of butter

500ml/1 pint of chicken stock

Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan until hot. Seal the chicken on both sides, set aside in your slow cooker. Add the stock to the residual juices in the pan and bring to the boil – add to your fillets and slow cook for 2/3 hours, depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Defrost thoroughly in the fridge before use if you freeze after cooking.

You can always slow cook more than four fillets but don't forget to freeze in quantities that suit you.

You can “smoke” chicken breasts – poach the breasts gently in chicken stock for 20 minutes – turn the chicken after 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the chicken to continue to poach in the stock with the lid on.

If you're not sure what “poaching” and how to achieve it :

Poaching is a technique involving submerging food in a liquid – in this case stock – milk and wine are also used.

It's considered to be a healthy method of cooking since it doesn't use fat to cook or flavour the food. Poaching uses a low temperature which means it's perfect for delicate food like chicken which has a tendency either to fall apart or become dry. The chicken remains succulent and full of flavour with whatever aromatics you've used in the stock.

Speaking of aromatics, if, like me, you occasionally slow cook a whole chicken infused with star anise and save the strained stock - I'm poaching the chicken breasts in the anise stock from my stash in the freezer. Since the recipe is Tarragon Chicken and tarragon has an aniseed flavour it's the perfect fit.

The sauce can then be cooked to the point where all that's required is to add the cream, fresh tarragon and white pepper.

What's not to love.

Moving on …

Lockdown may be easing but we're nowhere near any sort of “normal” and I use the word loosely! There are no coffee shops, pubs or restaurants properly open yet although there's some suggestion that may change in the middle of June. The bad news is we still have to cook and as the weeks go by it's getting harder to feel inspired, let alone cook our meals.

The weather has been more than kind which in a way has made life a little easier – a BBQ gives at least an illusion of freedom alfresco.

Over the last few weeks I've given menus hoping that the suggestions given might spark ideas but with no recipes. I've picked a recipe from those menus that I think you'll find useful for happier times to come.

We are all dreaming of the day when family and friends can get together in the same house and when that day dawns feeding them too. The last thing we'll be wanting to do is to eat into - sorry for the pun - that special time by spending it in the kitchen so what follows is an idea which you can approach in different ways.

The following dish is definitely in the “crowd pleaser and lip smackingly good” categories – it never fails.

Tarragon Chicken

Serves 4

4 chicken fillets

drop of Rapeseed/Canola oil and a knob of butter

500ml/1 pint of chicken stock

2 cloves of garlic, mashed (optional)

Bunch of spring onions, finely diced

1 tsp dried tarragon

Fresh tarragon – chopped – approx 2 tbsp

160ml/¼ pt/5 fl oz approx Vermouth or dry white wine

120ml/4fl oz double cream/heavy

celery salt and white pepper

drop of Rapeseed oil/Canola and a knob of butter

You'll need a large frying pan – preferably one you can transfer to the oven. Heat the rapeseed oil and butter and seal the chicken on both sides and set aside. Add the spring onions to the pan with the mashed garlic and dried tarragon - stir fry for 2 minutes then add the stock and the vermouth, let it bubble up, add the salt. Add the chicken breasts back to the pan. You can cook the breasts on the stove or in the oven. If you're using the oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 20 minutes but take care when removing the hot pan! Remove the fillets and wrap in foil to keep hot whilst you bring the liquid to the boil, add the cream and the chicken breasts – simmer gently for another 10 minutes and sprinkle with fresh tarragon and white pepper.

Next up – the alternatives and some hints and tips too.