July 4, 2012

NECTARINE, PLUM AND BLUEBERRY TART

Taking part in some of the baking challenges organised by other bloggers each month is quite…….a challenge !!  I find myself cooking things I would otherwise never cook and using recipes that I wouldn’t normally give a second look.  Another delight is seeing what other people have cooked for the same challenge, which has given me loads of ideas that I would love to try.

nigella tartIn the round up of last month’s entries for Tea Time Treats challenge, hosted by Kate of What Kate Baked, there was an entry for easy summer fruit tartlets from a blog called Fabulicious Food.  The idea came from a recipe in the book “Nigella Express” and I thought to myself, “I think I might have that book”.

nigella tart1aAnd sure enough, there it was, on the shelf, amongst all my other Nigella Lawson cookbooks, most of which are consulted fairly frequently, and I had completely forgotten about it.  In fact I don’t remember buying it at all and certainly have never cooked anything from it.  I feel slightly guilty about that.  How can anyone have such a good cookbook in their collection and have never used it or even noticed it was there ??

Anyway, I looked at the recipe the little tartlets originated from, called “nectarine and blueberry galette” and decided to have a go.  What a revelation !!  This has to be the quickest and easiest fruit tart I have ever made and it was lovely.  Not the most glamorous or the most elaborate, but dead easy to make and it turned out beautifully in a “rustic chic” kind of way.

nigella tart1 nigella tart2

I happened to have some nectarines, plums and blueberries in the house so I made it pretty much as described. 

Except that, anyone who buys ready-made and ready-rolled pastry in France will know that it comes in a circle.  The pastry you get in the UK comes in an oblong – or at least it does in my experience.  And in fact, in the January sales I treated myself to an oblong loose-bottomed tart tin which is the exact size to fit the ready-rolled pastry you get here, and it works a treat.  It was such a bargain that I nearly bought a second one to take to France but then I remembered that there was no point because the French pastry comes in circles.  (I could always make my own pastry to fit the oblong tart tin but……..when in France we are on holiday after all !!)

The point of all this is that I used a pack of ready-rolled pastry that we had brought back from France and put in the freezer, so it was a circle.  In any case, you don’t need a tin at all for this recipe, you just unroll the pastry onto a lined baking sheet.  I even used the baking paper that the pastry came rolled up in as the liner for the baking sheet.  How easy is that?

nigella tart3 You mix some apricot jam with some double cream, spread it onto the pastry, arrange fairly thin slices of fruit on top, sprinkle some sugar over and bake.  I used two nectarines, three plums and a good handful of blueberries.

It was done in next to no time, the fastest tart I have ever made and it was yummy.  It looked great too.  The possibilities are endless I think, sliced apple and strawberry, apricots and flaked almonds……..lots of combinations spring to mind, including the little tartlets that gave me the inspiration in the first place.

I can’t believe I have never tried anything like this before !!

Ingredients

1 pack ready-rolled puff pastry (about 375g)

2-3 nectarines

2-3 plums

a good handful of blueberries

2 tblsp apricot jam

2 tblsp double cream

2 tsp demerara sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°fan/gas mk 7. 

Unroll the pastry onto a lined baking sheet.  Using the point of a sharp knife, score a circle (or oblong) about 2cm inside the edge of the pastry to form a border, being careful not to cut all the way through.

In a small bowl, mix the apricot jam and double cream together until evenly combined and spread it over the pastry within the scored circle, using the back of a spoon.

Remove the stone from the nectarines and slice each one thinly into about 16 wedges.  The plums should be sliced into 6-8 wedges so that they are about the same thickness.  Arrange the fruit in concentric circles on the pastry, inside the scored border, or in rows if your tart is oblong.

Scatter the blueberries over the fruit and sprinkle the sugar within the outer border.  This border will rise to form a crust.

Bake for 15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the jammy mixture is bubbling slightly.  Serve warm with cream, ice-cream, or whatever you fancy.

Cuts into 6 - 8 good slices.

nigella tart4Here’s a savoury version.  I used two tablespoons of confiture d’echalotes (caramelised onion marmalade or chutney in the UK) mixed with two of double cream for the base and piled on smoked salmon pieces, goats cheese, tomatoes, a lightly cooked sliced leek, slices of pepper and mushrooms.  I forgot to photograph it when it was cooked but it was yummy – you will have to use your imagination !!

This is one of those versatile recipes that is so useful I think.

18 comments:

  1. Thanks, Jean.

    This looks delicious and straight forward enough for me to try at the weekend.

    I'll let you know how I get on...

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    1. Gaynor, do try it, it's a winner. And do let me know how it works out.

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  2. I like these freestyle fruit tarts, and have spells of making them. They are super easy, and you can make them big or small (individual).

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    1. Susan, freestyle is a good name for them !!

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  3. such a revelation isn't it...? I love the combinations that come to mind and the apricot glaze is genius and just makes it so professional looking non? Also... think of the savoury options?

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    1. Dom, savoury options......mmmmmm.....

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  4. Such a beautiful tart and so simple to make! I think they should sell round pastry in UK too! I often feel guilty for not using more of my cookbooks as I often get inspiration from blogs and the internet. Plus I can't seem to stop buying books so the pile keeps growing but there isn't enough time to use them all! PS I missed this recipe in my book so I'll bookmark it now :)

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    1. Baking Addict, me too, so many recipes, so little time !!

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  5. The tart looks absolutely delicious! And so easy to prepare.... And a great way to use odd pieces of fruit. I like Dom's suggestion for savoury versions too!

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    1. C&E, I am all for anything which uses odd bits of leftovers !!

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  6. This is so good!!! It is a really nice tart. Well done indeed!

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  7. This looks lovely, even nicer than Nigella's rectangular one (sorry Nigella!) and very French too. I already have the book but had never been particularly inspired to try this recipe, but I think I just might now!

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    1. Katharine, the jam/cream mixture on the base makes it especially nice I think.

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  8. I am new to baking but I think I can manage this, well, I'm crossing my fingers. I will give this a try during the weekend and have my hubby sample it. I am terribly excited already. Cheers for the recipe!

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  9. Ooh that looks lovely, I have that book and never noticed that recipe! The Naan bread pizza and Duck salad in there are really good though!

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  10. This looks absolutely delicious. So summery and packed with lovely fruit. I definitely think you're looks prettier being circular.

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  11. Jean, just beautiful. Thanks for contributing it to the "plummy" collection. Cheers

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