Monday 17 October 2011

Tarte Bombay

Torta Salata di Patate, Romanesco, Porri e Pancetta al Curry
Curried Potato, Romanesco, Leek and Bacon Tarte


You haven't seen the end of that Romanesco cauliflower yet my friends- remember, I live alone- so there are another couple of meals waiting to be made from the rest of it methinks. But fear not- I won't bore you with similar recipes over and over- I will do my best to do cool and flavorful things with it for you... like this for example...


Sure, this is another one of those dishes you can make from leftovers, but it is quick easy  and delicious all the same. I basically wanted to use up that cauliflower and my initial thought was to do an Indian curry of potato, leek and cauliflower. Then I noticed the eggs... and I thought, hmmm- also not getting any fresher... and soon after that THIS idea was born...




I started off by slicing and blanching the potato and the Romanesco for 4-5 minutes in water which was spiced with ginger, turmeric, garam masala, garlic, bay leaf and cumin seed. I then drained them off, rinsed them under cold water and set then aside to use in a few minutes to the filling.

After buttering out my baking-dish, I lined it with a thin layer of a simple dough- basically a pizza dough but without the yeast.  I pricked it all over with a fork and pre-baked it for 3 minutes... it's better to think ahead than to have a soggy pastry base!



Next step is to boost those flavors- so sprinkle the veggies with garam masala, Madras curry and a little turmeric and lay them out onto the pastry base. Add a few rings of leek and a sprinkle of bacon. Now beat two eggs with a little milk, salt, pepper, finely chopped parsley and Madras curry to make a "royale". And yes- regular milk is fine- there is no need to be using cream! We already have the bacon in there and that is enough fat as well as being great flavor. Pour the royale in-between the filling, creating an equal filling all around. 


Bake in a moderate oven for 20-25 minutes covered with aluminum foil and for a further 5-6 minutes without... and you should have a lovely, aromatic, steaming-hot dish of deliciousness to enjoy!


I made a simple tomato, basil and onion relish to go with it, a little Thai sweet chili sauce, a little cayenne, a little lime juice- and the perfect accompaniment for the tarte was made- perfect!

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