I picked up some smoked salmon on sale a little while back, tossed it in the freezer, and kind of forgot about it. I recently remembered it existed and figured I'd give this salmon tart a go. I was dubious about using cucumbers in a cooked pie, but it actually worked really well! I love the cream cheese in the custard.

Scottish Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Cream Cheese Tart

Slightly adapted from the Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hoder

Ingredients

• 175g shortcrust pastry
• 1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 250g smoked salmon, broken into large pieces
• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 150mL heavy (35%) cream
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill¹
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 tsp. peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Line a shallow 25cm (10") tart tin² with the pastry and blind bake it³.
2. Toss cucumber with salt, place in colander, and place a plate and a heavy object on top. Set aside to drain for 30 minutes.
3. Pat cucumber dry and toss with salmon.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
5. Blend cream cheese, eggs, egg yolk, cream, chives, dill, lemon zest, lemon juice, and pepper.
6. Place cucumber-salmon mixture in pie crust.
7. Pour the cheese mixutre over the filling.
8. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 30 minutes.
9. Serve warm or cold with vegetable side of your choice.

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¹ I didn't have any fresh dill, so I ended up using an extra 2 Tbsp. of chives + 1/2 tsp. of ground dill seeds. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for a 9" tart tin, but I've had issues with having too much filling for pies in this book before, so I decided to go up one tin size. ^Back
3 Line with parchment paper and fill with pie beans and bake at 400°F for 15 minutes, then remove paper and beans, prick with a fork, and brush with egg white, then return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes. ^Back

Lovage, Tomato, and Cheese Tart

This tart is way tastier than it has any right to be! I don't understand it. There's nothing wrong with the ingredient list, but it didn't seem particularly inspiring either. No herbs, no spices (beyond black pepper), no Parmesan. There's some onion and garlic and Cheddar and things, but I wasn't confident that any of it would really shine. I put one or more kinds of cheese in almost every quiche I make -- onions and garlic are pretty common too -- but they don't all come out like this! They're usually tasty, sure, but not the addictive, rich, satisfying flavour-bomb that this one turned out to be. I am really impressed. I was already planning the modifications and improvements in my head while preparing it but, now that I've actually tried it, I don't think it needs any changes at all.

Loveage, Tomato, and Cheese Tart

Slightly adapted from the Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 175g Pastry
• 25g unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh lovage (young leaves only)¹
• 3 large eggs
• 300mL heavy (35%) cream
• black pepper, to taste
• 4 ripe tomatoes, skinned, chopped, and juices drained²
• 115g old/sharp/mature Cheddar, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a shallow 23cm (9") tart tin³ with the pastry.
2. Line the pie shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Blind bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat.
4. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 10-15 minutes.
6. Add the lovage and cook, uncovered, for 1 more minute. If using celery instead, cook for 5 more minutes.
7. Remove from heat and set aside.
8. Lightly beat the eggs.
9. Remove the parchemnt paper and pie weights from the pie shell and brush the pastry with beaten egg.
10. Return the pie shell to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.
11. Mix the cream with the beaten eggs and season to taste with pepper.
12. Once the pie shell is fully baked, remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 190°C (375°F).
13. Sprinkle ~1/2 of the cheese over the bottom of the pie shell.
14. Add the onion mixture in an even layer on top of the cheese.
15. Add an even layer of chopped tomatoes over the onion.
16. Pour in the custard, being careful not to overflow the pie shell.
17. Top with remaining cheese.
18. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30 minutes.
19. Serve warm.

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¹ If you don't have access to fresh lovage, you may use celery instead. (This is, incidentally, what I did.) Celery has a much milder flavour than lovage, so you'll need a lot more of it. Use 3-4 stalks of minced celery to replace the lovage. ^Back
2 I didn't have any fresh tomatoes on hand, so I used fire-roasted tinned diced tomatoes with the juices drained. I didn't measure the amount. I think I probably used ~300mL of tomatoes. ^Back
3 I used a shallow 23cm tart tin as directed but found that there wasn't enough room for all the custard. I had a scant cup left over. I would recommend either using a deep dish 23cm pie plate or scaling back the custard slightly. Maybe just two eggs and 200mL of cream. ^Back

This has been a very busy week; lots of appointments and running around. I was tired today and really didn't feel much like cooking, but I know that tomorrow is going to be another busy day and I may not get a chance to cook, so I figured I'd better cobble something together for dinner tonight.
I had some ready-made pie crusts in the freezer that really want used, so I decided to peruse the Book of Old Tarts to see if it held any inspiration. I've been buying Beyond Meat sausages whenever they go on sale and stashing them in the freezer for later use and I've finally restocked on cream as well, so this sausage and mustard tart caught my eye. I didn't have the right kind of beans, but I figured I'd swap in gigantes and give it a try anyway.

The original recipe calls for a "shallow 9-inch tart tin". I have a shallow 9" tart tin, so I baked it in that. This worked fine, but only, I think, because I was a little shy on the beans and didn't press the sausages down into the filling as directed. The sausages were also a bit too long to fit neatly in the tin. I think I'd be inclined to try it with a 10" tin next time.

As you can see, the tart lacked some structural integrity. I'm not sure if the filling was too wet or the crust was too thin or if it needed more time in the oven or what. That said, the flavour was excellent!

Sausage and Mustard Tart

Slightly adapted from the Book of Old Tarts

Ingredients

• 175g pastry
• 4 c. cooked butter beans or great northern beans (haricot beans)¹
• 3 Tbsp. Roman Mustard, divided
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 3 Tbsp. table (18%) cream
• salt and pepper, to taste²
• 8 chipolata sausages or 4 mild Italian sausages, halved
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Roll out the pastry and use it to line a 23 or 25cm (9 or 10") shallow tart tin.³
2. Blind bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes. Ideally you would then remove the pie weights, brush with egg, and bake for another 5 minutes. I skipped the brushing with egg step.
3. Meanwhile, purée the beans with 2 Tbsp. of the mustard, ketchup, cream, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour the bean purée into the baked pie shell.
5. Place the sausages (or sausage halves) on top in a wheel spoke pattern, pressing them down into the filling.
6. Cover the pie with foil and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 35 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 Tbsp. mustard, brown sugar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce and mix well.
8. After 35 minutes, uncover the pie and brush with the mustard mixture.
9. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
10. Serve with fried onions, gravy, and/or creamed kale.

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Variations

Vegetarian Version

This makes for an easy vegetarian meal. Just use vegetarian sausages and Worcestershire sauce.

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¹ I didn't have either, so I used gigantes (mature lima beans). I cooked them in mixture of water and chicken stock with onion, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, chili flakes, and a Parmesan rind. ^Back
2 I didn't add any salt and pepper since there was already some in the cooking liquid from the beans. When I drained the beans, I removed the bay leaves and the Parmesan rind but left the peppercorns in. ^Back
3 The original recipe calls for a 9" tin, but that size seemed a bit small to me. I'll probably use a 10" tin the next time I make this recipe. ^Back

I had some lemon filling/curd left over after making my kolaches last weekend. I also had some frozen pastry kicking around the chest freezer that wanted to be used. It wasn't the "rich sweet shortcrust pastry" called for by the recipe, but I'm not really bothered by that. I don't generally find sweet shortcrust worth the extra effort. (And neither does anyone else if North American recipes and grocery stores are anything to judge by. Recipes here don't tend to call for sweet shortcrust and grocery stores don't sell it. I could make it from scratch and I have done before but, as noted, I don't generally feel it's worth it. It doesn't make that much of a difference and it's a lot harder to handle than standard pie pastry.)

With the pastry and the lemon curd already sorted, this pie was pretty easy to throw together. The author calls it a cousin of the Bakewell Tart, and I can definitely see the family resemblance. The jam has been replaced with lemon curd over which a lemon-almond custard is poured. It doesn't have as strong an almond flavour as a standard Bakewell tart, but I enjoy the burst of lemon you get in its place. TF and the Kidlet both loved it as well.

The original recipe is written for a shallow 23cm (9") tart tin. I absent-mindedly grabbed my 9" American-style pie plate which is much deeper than the shallow tin called for. I ended up doubling the amount of lemon curd called for (1/2 c. rather than 1/4 c.) and used an extra tablespoon of brown sugar over it (2 Tbsp. vs. 1), but left the amount of almond custard the same. I'm happy with the results this gave me. You may want to adjust the proportions if you're using a different sized tin though.

Lancaster Tart, assembled and decorated by the Kidlet

Lancaster Tart

Slightly adapted form the Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 175g of sweet shortcrust pastry
• 1/2 c. lemon curd
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• zest of 2 lemons
• 115g unsalted butter, softened
• 150mL heavy (35%) cream
• 55g ground almonds
• 115g sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. Blind bake your pie crust according to your favourite method.
2. Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F).
3. Spread the lemon curd in the bottom of the baked pie shell.
4. Sprinkle with brown sugar.
5. Combine lemon zest, butter, cream, almonds, sugar, egg yolks, and egg and mix very well. (I used an immersion blender.)
6. Pour almond mixture into the pie shell and smooth the top.
7. Decorate with sliced almonds and/or any extra bits of pastry.
8. Bake at 170°C (325°F) for 40-50 minutes.
9. Warm with extra lemon curd and/or whipped cream.

Caramelized onions are amazing. I figured a tart full of them would definitely be a winner. I'm sad to say I was a little disappointed with this one. I mean, it was okay, but it didn't blow me away like the Potato, Spinach, and Raisin Tart I made a few weeks back. It was just... alright. I think, if I made it again, I might try adding a little cottage cheese to it. It might also be worth baking it in a 9" (23cm) springform pan rather that the 9" pie plate I used this time. The recipe specifies a "23cm (9 in) deep tart tin", but I think that means something different in the UK than it does here. After watching a few episodes of Great British Bake Off where they make deep dish pies/tarts, the tins they use are very deep indeed and have straight sides as opposed to the sloped sides of the conventional pie plates we use here. This meant that my tart didn't have the expected capacity and I couldn't fit all the custard in the shell, which probably threw off the balance of the recipe a bit. I guess I'll try using a springform pan next time and see if that makes a difference.

Onion Tart

Slightly adapted from The Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 225g savoury/plain shortcrust pastry
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1 egg white
• 25g unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 8 onions, peeled and sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 425mL heavy (35%) cream
• pinch of saffron

Directions

1. Lightly flour your work surface and sprinkle with thyme.
2. Roll out the pastry on the prepared surface.
3. Line a 9" (23cm) springform pan with the pastry.
4. Prick pastry all over with a fork and brush with egg white.
5. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 25 minutes.
6. Melt butter and oil over medium heat.
7. Add onion and sprinkle with salt and sugar.
8. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Remove lid and cook for another 10 minutes.
10. Stir in nutmeg and ginger, then remove from heat.
11. Beat the eggs with the extra yolks and season with salt and pepper.
12. Add the saffron to the cream and gently warm over medium-low heat until just steaming.
13. Add warm cream to beaten eggs in a thin stream while whisking.
14. Spoon the onion mixture into the baked pie shell.
15. Pour the custard over the onions.
16. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 25 minutes.
17. Serve warm.

Potato, Spinach, and Raisin Tart (Quiche)

Wow! This one was good! I have to admit, I was dubious of the raisins in this combo, but it really worked. Only thing I'd do differently next time is to be a bit more diligent about pressing excess liquid out of the various components before they go into the pie shell. The end result was slightly soupy (although still totally delicious).

Potato, Spinach, and Raisin Tart

Slightly adapted from the Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 225g shortcrust pastry (homemade or store-bought)
• 25g salted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil¹ (optional)
• 2 leeks (white part only) or 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tsp. garlic paste (or 3 cloves garlic, crushed)
• 3 medium-sized potatoes, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• 220g spinach, rinsed and trimmed²
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 55g raisins
• 140g grated Cheddar cheese
• 4 eggs
• 200mL table (18%) cream³

Directions

1. Line a 9" deep dish pie plate with the pastry and blind bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.
2. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and return the pie shell to the over for 5 minutes.
3. Melt the butter over medium heat (with oil, if using)
4. Add the onions or leeks and cook until softened.
5. Add the garlic and cook until just starting to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
6. Bring some water to a boil and add the potatoes.
7. Season water with a bit of salt and boil for 5 minutes.
8. Remove potatoes from water with slotted spoon, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
9. Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute.
10. Remove spinach from water and drain, squeezing out a much liquid as possible.
11. Sprinkle spinach with the nutmeg and set aside.
12. Add the raisins to the hot water and let them soak for a few minutes.
13. Drain the raisins, dry off, and set aside.
14. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
15. Sprinkle ~60g of the cheese over the base of the baked pie shell.
16. Spread half the potatoes over this.
17. Spread half the spinach over the potatoes.
18. Sprinkle half the raisins over the spinach.
19. Repeat the layers once more.
20. Top with the sautéed onion and garlic mixutre.
21. Whisk the eggs with the cream and season with salt and pepper.
22. Slowly and carefully pour the the egg mixture into the pie, giving it time to percolate down through the various layers.
23. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
24. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 40 minutes.

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Variants

Lighter Version

Ingredients

• 15g salted butter
• 2 leeks (white part only) or 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tsp. garlic paste (or 3 cloves garlic, crushed)
• 3 medium-sized potatoes, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• 250g spinach, rinsed and trimmed
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 55g raisins
• 100g grated (low-fat) Cheddar cheese
• 1 egg
• 4 egg whites
• 200mL milk
• 2 Tbsp. flour

Directions

1. Cook and prepare fillings as above.
2. Grease a 9" deep dish pie plate.
3. Sprinkle 40g of cheese in the bottom of the pie plate.
4. Spread half the potatoes over this.
5. Spread half the spinach over the potatoes.
6. Sprinkle half the raisins over the spinach.
7. Repeat the layers.
8. Spread the onion mixture over top.
9. Whisk together egg, egg whites, milk, and flour.
10. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
11. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the fillings, giving it time to seep in.
12. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 40 minutes.

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¹ I actually completely forgot the oil. I don't think it really missed the extra fat though. I probably won't bother with the oil next time either. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 450g of spinach, but I only had 220g and I found that to be enough. I think more would've been fine, but it definitely would've required a larger pie plate. ^Back
3 The original calls for 225mL of cream, but I couldn't quite fit all of the egg-cream mixture into the filled pie, so I'd try it with slightly less cream next time. ^Back

I went to search the cookbook shelf for dinner inspiration yesterday and ended up doing an organizational overhaul. This lead to reorganizing the shelf, pruning a bunch of books that we don't really use, and rediscovering some others that I probably should be! Among this last category was The Book of Old Tarts. It's a great little book featuring both sweet and savoury tarts/pies from as recently as the 1960s and as far back as Roman times. It is very much up my alley!

I ended up starting with a 20th century recipe because it was one of the few for which I actually had all the ingredients on hand. (And because it sounded tasty!)

TF and I both really enjoyed this pie. The crisp oatmeal and breadcrumb topping reminds me of an apple crumble or a Dutch apple pie which is definitely a favourite with both of us. I found it slightly on the sweet side, but not unbearably so. And the pie was excellent served with a bit of heavy/whipping cream. I think it'd be even better served with some vanilla ice cream or maybe a fool, but the cream was lovely all the same. The only really problem was with structural integrity. Despite pre-baking for 20 minutes and brushing with egg white, it still ended up with a soggy bottom. Next time I think I'd pre-bake it for slightly longer and pour the apple poaching liquid over after all the other ingredients have been added (rather than just after the apples go in). That might not be enough to save it from having a soggy bottom, but hopefully it'll at least help a little.

Oatmeal, Apple, and Syrup Tart

Slightly adapted from the Old Book of Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe sweet shortcrust pastry
• 55g rolled oats
• 1 egg white
• 450g apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 300mL water
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 25g butter, cut into small pieces
• 50g brown sugar
• 25g fresh breadcrumbs
• 55g sultanas
• 3 Tbsp. golden syrup¹

Directions

1. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface sprinkled with 25g of the rolled oats to a thickness of 3mm and use it to line a 9" deep dish pie plate.
2. Prick all over with a fork.
3. Brush with egg white.
4. Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 400°F (200°C).
5. Chill the lined tin for at least 10 minutes.
6. Place the empty pie shell on the preheated baking sheet and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20-25 minutes.
7. Remove baked shell from oven (leaving the baking sheet in).
8. Combine the apples, water, cloves, and cinnamon and bring to a boil over medium heat.
9. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes until apples are tender, but not mushy.
10. Remove apples with slotted spoon and set aside.
11. Add sultanas and golden syrup to apple poaching liquid and continue to cook, uncovered for another 10 minutes.
12. Place the apples in the bottom of the baked pie shell.
13. Scatter the pieces of butter on top of the apples.
14. Sprinkle the brown sugar over this in an even layer.
15. Combine the remaining oats with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle these over the sugar.
16. Pour the syrup-sultana mixture over everything.²
17. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 25 minutes (you may need to cover the exposed crust with foil to stop it from burning).
18. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

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¹ I ended up using corn syrup in place of the golden syrup. Maple syrup or pancake syrup would also make reasonable substitutes. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for mixing the (dry) sultanas with the oats and breadcrumbs and pouring the poaching liquid (without the syrup) over the apples before adding the butter, sugar, or oat mixture. Then the syrup gets drizzled over on its own after everything else has been added. My hope is that by holding all the liquids back 'til just before the pie goes in the oven, it won't develop quite such a soggy bottom. Although this theory remains untested at this point. ^Back