Feta Cheese Spring Salad Tarts

Feta Cheese Spring Salad Tarts             

Quick. Easy. Cheap. Three little words that rock my culinary world when I am short on time and funds. As addicted as I am to cooking, I don’t always have the inclination to slave over meals, and I am turning to vegetarian dishes more often, in frustration at the cost of meat.

Yet this is not an austerity recipe; there is nothing that tastes frugal or lacking in this tasty little tart that would happily grace the table of any fashionable Bistro. It’s simplicity on a plate; fresh and fragrant as a sunny day, and utilising my diet tip of ready-made light puff pastry, cuts down on calories as well as preparation time.

Ingredients:

1 sheet shop-bought light puff pastry, thawed

250g Feta Cheese, crumbled

Small jar of marinated artichoke hearts

1 egg, beaten

100g yellow & red cherry tomatoes

120g frozen peas, thawed

Mint leaves

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Feel free to substitute any of the ingredients to suit your preference. Mozzarella and Basil will work just as well, and for those of you that cannot imagine a meal with meat, perhaps add some crispy bacon. If you don’t like artichokes, you could substitute with asparagus.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 C.

Cut the pastry into 4 rectangles, and score a half-inch border inside each square. Place the pieces on a baking tray lined with parchment and top with feta and artichoke hearts. Brush the borders with the egg wash and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden.

Prepare the salad. Halve the tomatoes, place in a bowl with the peas and ripped up mint leaves. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. When the hot tarts are removed from the oven, top with the salad. Season and serve immediately.

Cod with Black Olive Dressing

Cod with Black Olive Dressing

Writing about food for Cotswold Style, and in a constant creative cooking frenzy, I found myself with a body shaped like one of those huge luxury Easter Eggs you see in the window of fancy chocolate shops.  I had taken my eye off the ball whilst taste testing cream buns, and something had to change.  So, setting myself a challenge of “can diet food be delicious” I have been dabbling with lower calorie meals that tempt my taste buds whilst whittling away at my waistline.

In my newfound spirit of healthy eating, fish is just the kind of food I fancy at the moment.  It took me forty something years to become a fully fledged fish aficionado and I am now making up for lost time and not just saving fish for Friday.

I think what I love most about fish, is the speed and simplicity in which I can prepare a quick supper.  I am also discarding my food snobbery and have subsequently discovered that frozen fish can be a good friend to the busy cook, and is often surprisingly inexpensive (three cheers for Aldi frozen Sea Bass fillets at £2.99 for two).

However, we have Good Friday to think about so my fishy offering this month is Cod.  I choose Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified line caught Cod in an attempt to be ethical about my choice. 

Cod and olives are a wonderful partnership and a traditional Mediterranean combination.  This meal is almost effortless, and the end result is elegant and stylish.  I usually serve with a freshly made ratatouille or a salad.  If you are especially diet conscious, just use a little less of the olive oil dressing.

Serves 4



Ingredients

100g x black olives


200ml x good olive oil


A few radishes, sliced

Chives for garnish


4  x cod fillets, about 150-175g each


Salt and pepper

Splash of white wine



Method

Blitz the olives and oil for a few seconds, or simply chop olives and mix with oil. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 220 C (200 for fan oven), season the fish and wrap individually in foil with a splash of white wine, until cooked; this will take about 12-15 minutes. 
To serve, plate the fish and garnish with the sliced radishes and chives. Drizzle with the blended oil (this will have separated, like a vinaigrette)

Review - The Tara @ Upton St Leonards

The Tara Restaurant at Hatton Court, Nr. Upton St Leonards

Starter

Main

Pudding

                                       

I have no idea why the Tara Restaurant has not been on my radar until now, but my Parents had eaten there recently and given a good report.  The food seemed interesting and Hatton Court is in an attractive location; I was intrigued and booked a table for a midweek dinner.

At first glance, the menu seemed traditional and trustworthy.  The first plus point in my notebook – I could happily have eaten anything listed, not one single option that didn’t tickle my taste buds.  That led me to the correct conclusion that the Chef and I were on the same wavelength. 

Mr N and I have an annoying habit of choosing the same item, but for reviewing purposes I like to ring the changes.  This also gives me a valid excuse to steal food from his plate in the name of research. I opted for the set 3-course tariff at £25 and my husband was given approval to order from the individually priced menu.

When our first courses arrived, they were pretty as a picture, contemporary food art presented on black slate tiles.  I had Arbroath Smokie Pate with sour beetroot, soft cooked quails eggs and caper berries which was as good as I have eaten in award winning restaurants.  The combination of flavours was nigh on perfect, and enhanced by the clever addition of fennel pollen.  Mr N was presented with a hot & cold starter of Seared Smoked Salmon, with Avocado, a little salad made of Anya potatoes and a Horseradish dressing.  He polished it off before I could steal a mere morsel, but concluded that it was delicious.

My braised Bavette of Beef was a clever use of flank steak, and so tender that you could cut it with a spoon.  I applaud the use of this tasty cut; the French love it, which is all the recommendation I need.  This was served with a rather architectural parsnip wrapped with a ham crisp and pointing skywards. It actually resembled the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai - very artistic indeed.  The superstar on the plate however was an excellent sauce, which gave everything else a wonderfully deep and rich flavor.  My husband chose Sea Bass in a Lobster broth, which was decoratively dressed with a couple of beady eyed crustaceans which unfortunately defeated his manual dexterity, and he never got to dig into the sweet flesh within.  The Sea Bass was enough to keep him happy, and yet again my efforts in double taste testing were foiled.

Puddings were attractive and tasty.  I chose a trio of lemon temptations; a creamy posset, a good sharp tart and an acidic sorbet.  Mr N’s Crème Brulee with rhubarb, accompanied by a tuile biscuit, was also pronounced to be very good indeed.

Pleasingly, the atmosphere is that of a restaurant, not of a hotel dining room.  Service was efficient, and did not impose on our privacy.  Overall, The Tara sits very comfortably in between traditional and contemporary dining, which is ideal for a destination restaurant with a diverse clientele.

Verdict:  A pleasing dining experience.  Chef Phil Clench has skill and imagination.  Deserving of local support and serious consideration for a lovely meal out, serving delicious food with artistic flair.