Welcome Spring

It's always an exciting time at the end of winter when the days turn sunny and we know Spring is on the way.  Fresh spring veggies like asparagus, peas, sugar snaps and zucchini start to appear in the stores and you can start to cook lighter style dishes.

Above is a spring tart I put together to celebrate the start of Spring and just to prove Spring makes everyone feel good my husband Nick remarked it looked like a "happy tart" when I showed it to him.  

The taste will make you happy too, my daughter Emma, the hand model in the photos and I..gobbled down a few slices after photographing it for lunch.

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For an Autumn Tart substitute the spring vegetables for pumpkin (slice or small dice part cook in the oven first), pine nuts, olives & crumbled fetta. 

Spring Tart

This tart is light and I've added some grated pecorino to add a bit of sharpness to the ricotta filling.  Make for a light lunch or serve with a salad and some crusty bread for a more substantial meal.

Makes 2 square tarts

2 sheets of puff pastry, 2 eggs, 250g ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup pecorino cheese grated, small handful basil leaves shredded, sea salt & pepper.

Your choice of spring vegetables, I used asparagus, fresh peas (blanched in boiling water for a minute), sugar snaps (cut in half horizontally) and zucchini shaved with a vegetable peeler.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Place pastry sheet on baking paper and place on a tray.

Using the point of a knife, don't cut right through but score a 1cm, 1/2 inch border around the edge of the sheet of puff pastry and prick surface inside the square with a fork.  In a bowl whisk the eggs, mix in the ricotta, pecorino, shredded basil, salt and pepper.

Spread the ricotta mixture over the pastry within the square.  Arrange vegetables on top of the mixture and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.  Drizzle with a little olive oil if desired.  Cut into squares and serve.
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Catherine x