Macaroon mincemeat tarts

This recipe is another using up Christmas leftovers and this time it's some mincemeat. I wanted to make something different from mince pies and found this recipe in an old cookbook from the 70s. I'm not going to give the recipe for the shortcrust pastry - everyone has their own favourite one, or you can use Just Rol.

150g s/c pastry [that's 200g flour, 100g fat etc]
4 tbspns mincemeat
2 egg whites
75g caster sugar
75g ground almonds
15g flaked almonds
a few cherries cut in 1/4s

Preheat oven 190C/375F/gas 5

Grease a bun tin.

Roll out the pastry, cut out with a 8cm cutter and line your bun tin. [I cut out 10 cases]
Whisk the egg whites till stiff then fold in the sugar and the ground almonds.
Spoon some of the mixture on top of each tart then sprinkle with some flaked almonds. Put a piece of cherry in the middle.
Bake for about 20 mins, or until golden.

The topping is a good contrast to the soft mincemeat. A recipe to keep.

Pecan and maple syrup tart

Bought a large bag of pecans recently on offer from Julian Graves. My lovely friend Jackie brought us some maple syrup from her recent trip to Canada, so, a marriage made in heaven.

It's such an easy tart to make, and if you have some pastry in the freezer, it's even quicker.

Pastry:
250g plain flour
125g salted, cold butter
2 tbspn sugar
3-4 tbspn very cold water

I make this in the food processor, make double and keep half, wrapped carefully, in the freezer. I let the half I'm going to use, rest in the fridge for a couple of hours. I don't like sugar in pastry, even in sweet desserts, so I don't add it.

Filling:
60g melted butter
100g sugar [I used golden caster]
180ml maple syrup
2 eggs
250g pecans

Preheat oven 190C/375F/gas5

Grease a rectangular tart tin. [I bought mine from Lakeland and have had lots of use out of it. It's loose-bottomed!] Roll the pastry out into the tart tin.
Beat the butter, sugar and maple syrup together with an electric mixer and keep beating while you add the eggs.
Put the pecans in the base of the tart then pour over the butter mixture.
Bake for 15 mins at 190C/gas 5 then lower the temperature to 170C/gas3-4 [depending on your oven] and bake for another 25-30 mins.
Let it cool in the tin.

Cheese and red onion tart

Another of my 'use up what's in the freezer and garden' recipes.

We've had a good crop of onions this year, both red and white, so I decided to use up the puff pastry in the freezer and make an onion tart. I found some Cathedral Cheddar yesterday in the supermarket, so a marriage made in heaven!

You need:

1 pkt puff pastry
2 big red onions sliced
about 75g Cheddar cheese grated
s&p
dried mixed herbs
1 tbspn oil and 1 tbspn butter
about 1 tspn sugar
sprigs of any herbs you fancy

Preheat oven 210C/gas7 and grease a baking sheet.

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan and fry the onions gently for about 5 mins till soft then add the sugar, s&p and dried herbs and cook for a further 10 mins.
Roll out the pastry [I've packed my rolling pin so had to use a lemonade bottle. Mum would be proud of me!] and put onto baking sheet.
Spoon the onions onto the pastry leaving about 2 cms round the edge.
Sprinkle the cheese over the top and put the sprigs of herbs on the cheese. I used thyme.

Cook for about 12-15 mins till the pastry is risen and golden brown.

I made a big green salad and a tomato salad to eat with it. Bob also had chunks of crusty bread that I'd made in my new breadmaker.

Ocean tart

I decided to make this tart for some friends and neighbours who are coming for lunch tomorrow.

It's from a French cookery book called 'Sweet and Savoury tarts' - 'Tartes sucrees et salees' - by Margot Stephan.

Serves 6-8

1 pack ready made puff pastry

6eggs

200g cooked and peeled prawns

250g smoked salmon pieces

2 tbspns creme fraiche

150g grated cheese [I used Gruyere]

s&p

flan tin 28cm [11"]

Preheat oven gas6/200C/400F

Roll the pastry out and line the tart tin. Spread the prawns and cooked salmon pieces onto the pastry.

In a bowl, separate yolks and whites of 2 eggs and beat the whites till stiff.

In another bowl, mix the cream in with the 2 egg yolks and the other 4 eggs. Beat together and season to taste. Then add most of the cheese and the beaten egg whites and fold together.

Pour into the tin and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Bake for 30 minutes.