Rustic Tomato, Mushroom and Ham Tart

This is sort of full monty tart with cream and eggs that requires the crust to be blind baked first. But it is a lot nicer cold so you can cook 2-3 hours ahead. Mushrooms can be substituted with spinach or asparagus tips.

2 medium size tomatoes
1 sheet of savoury short crust pastry
80 grams ham, thinly sliced
80 grams button mushrooms, thinly sliced
¼ cup grated tasty cheddar cheese
¾ cup cream
¼ cup milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and black pepper

Tart Shell

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Line 20x20 square tin with 2 pieces of 20 x 30 of baking paper (you can cut to size) crosswise and leave the longer bits hanging on all sides (this will make it easier to lift the tart from the tin). If you have loose bottom pan you don’t need this process.

Line the tin with the pastry with about 4 cm up the sides, trim excess and mend the corners neatly. Prick the pastry with fork a few times, cover with baking paper or foil and pie weight (I use garden stones!) and bake blind for 10-12 minutes. Remove the paper and stones and bake for another 5 minutes.

Filling

Crank up the oven to 200 degrees C

Fry mushroom with a little bit of butter (to remove excess water) until brown. Line the tart shell with ham, mushrooms, grated cheese and tomato slices.

In a jug, mix cream, milk, sour cream and egg together. Mix well to combine and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the shell – add another round of black pepper. Bake at 200 degrees for 40 minutes and reduce the temperature to 180 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes.

Leave to set in the tin for 5-10 minutes before lifting the tart.

Serve warm or cold. This recipe is enough for 2 as a light lunch with side salad.