Friday 7 March 2008

Graham's Vegetarian Roast Bell Pepper Tart Recipe



Well, it's time to hang my walking boots up for a few days and turn my hand to a little more cooking. This time I am going to introduce you all to a lovely vegetarian dish called "Roast Pepper Tart". It tastes truly delicious with the flavour of the roast vegetables being entirely different from that of boiled or fried.
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Ingredients:


PASTRY

175g / 6oz / 1 1/4 cups plain (all purpose) flour
Pinch of salt
75g / 2 1/4 oz / 6 tbsp butter or vegetarian margarine
2 tbsp green/black pitted olives, finely chopped
3 or 4 tbsp cold water


FILLING

1 red (bell) pepper
1 green (bell) pepper
1 yellow (bell) pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
100g / 3 1/2 oz / 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
2 eggs
150 ml / 5 fl oz / 2/3 cup milk
1 tbsp chopped basil
Salt & Pepper

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If you do use this great recipe for the Vegetarian Roast Bell Pepper Tart, please be welcome to either email me or leave a comment at the bottom of this post with your feedback. Thank You ~ Graham :o)


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To make the pastry, sieve the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl.





Then slice the butter/margarine into small pieces and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (A tip here is to make sure your hands are cold whilst you rub in the butter and just use your fingertips).



Chop the olives finely (Make sure that the olives are very finely chopped, otherwise they will make holes in the pastry).



Add the olives and cold water, bringin the mixture together to form a dough.

Roll the dough out onto a floured surface and use to line a 20cm / 8 inch flan dish.



Prick the base with a fork and leave to chill. (Please note that I do not make pastry very often....lol! So please excuse my untidy attempt).



Cut the (bell) peppers in half lengthways and lay skin-side uppermost on a baking tray (cookie sheet). Mix the crushed garlic and olive oil and brush over the (bell) peppers.

I know I am a bit of a photography freak, and I just couldn't resist taking an "arty" photograph of the peppers coated in the olive oil and garlic. The colours were so vibrant!!!!



Cook in a preheated oven 200 C / 400 F / Gas Mark 6, for 20 minutes or until beginning to char slightly. At this point I found it almost impossible to avoid the urge to simply eat the roasted peppers. They are soooo scrummy!!!!!



Let the (bell) peppers cool slightly and then thinly slice. Arrange in the base of the pastry case, layering with the Mozzarella cheese. Please feel free to be as artistic as you like. In this instance, I simply sprinkled randomly around the flan dish - mixing and matching the colours. However you do it, it will look great when you take it out of the oven!!





Beat the egg and milk and add the basil. Season well with salt and pepper and pour over the (bell) peppers.





Put the tart on a baking tray (cookie sheet) and return to the oven for 20 minutes or until set.

You can serve this scrumptious dish either hot or cold.

10 comments:

no more said...

Looks really delicious, reminds me of some breakfast casseroles i've seen where they mix in sausages. Except this one has a crust! Why don't you come over and cook for me? :-)

Choc Mint Girl said...

Graham! Oh dear... I'm actually drooling!! I imagine the crusty layer of pastry... hmmmmmmmm... ;D

Graham Ettridge said...

Muse, we have something similar here called Quiche Lorraine (or egg and bacon flan). It'll be a pleasure to come and cook for you... all you have to do is whistle ;)

Crystal. The texture of the pastry was a great balance against the softness of the filling. The base of th pastry does remain quite soft.... it is a mouthful of wonderful flavours and textures... You must try it.

Anonymous said...

Graham, that looks so friggin yummy! I can't WAIT to try it!

Andddd, more for me, because my partner hates flans or quiches or anything like that lol - though I do have to say, you're SO bad for my diet lol.

Pastry is not top of the list for healthy eating :P

As regards your comment to Muse about Quiche Lorraine, I should make that again at some point too. Thanks for cheering me up on a bad weekend :)

Anonymous said...

My stomach is crunching. I skipped my lunch today, haven't had dinner and I guess it's bad timing that I opened your blog lol! Now, my stomach crunches even more!!!

It looks sooo yummy.

Anonymous said...

That is IT...either I need to get there or you need to get here...but I cant wait for you to cook for me one day.

Good Lord. DEEEEEELicious.

Graham Ettridge said...

Dawn, lol! I have one weakness.... I love food. They always say "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach"...LOL! Well it is true for me.

If you do make it, let me know what you think of it.



Scarlett, go get something to eat...LOL! I'll be sure to post more foody stuff soon ;)



Meleah, it'll be an absolute pleasure to cook you a meal one day!!!!!

Michelle Hix said...

Yum! I have a pepper obsession! I love them. That looks simply wonderful Graham.

linda said...

Oh, now that looks so yummy. Perfect for a brunch, served cold. Mmmm.

Graham Ettridge said...

Michelle, I love peppers too, albeit raw, stir fried or roasted. The texture, the taste and the colour are all a great addition to any meal. Thanks for your kind words :)

Linda, I baked this one as a starter for a meal - a small slice each. But I also made another one to enable me to have a slice in my packed lunch for work each day. Mmmmmmm it was soooo yummy indeed!

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