Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Courgette & Parmesan Tart


I love the wibbly web - you can find any truth for which you seek with the application of the appropriate amount of effort. I made this fab concoction in double quick time after work on Friday and was delighted with the result and with the fact that despite his protestations that he really really does not like puff pastry it was a big hit with the man as well. Myslf, I love puff pastry so much I would happily eat it unadorned if still warm from the oven. Not much chance of that of late!

Seeking a little information about the exact nature of mascarpone I typed it into google and came up with Mascarpone is one of the foods that make the food police quiver and stop dead in their tracks. It is a fresh, very rich cow’s milk cheese — double or triple cream (60% to 75% milk fat) from ochef. I also discovered that it is fat free. According to the aptly named good to know Honey grilled peaches with mascarpone - There's only 25 calories in this dessert, so you don't have to give up your after-dinner pudding Serves: 4-8 Calories per serving: 25 kcals though to be fair it does say Fat per serving (without mascarpone): 0g. But then you read the recipe and it finishes with a flourish Serve immediately with scoops of mascarpone in each centre with 2 or 3 raspberries on top. Personally I'm adding those scoops.

Which ever version you tell yourself I recommend this dish as a quick and easy supper made decadent as you like with mascarpone which uses cream skimmed from the milk to make Parmesan as its base and therein lies the information you need to understand the essence of its delight. It is an adaptation from BBC Olive Magazine which listed it as the dish for Friday night - and for us it was.

Creamy Courgette Slice

375g sheet ready rolled pastry

3 courgettes, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbspn olive oil

125g mascarpone

50g Parmesan, grated

Heat the oven too gas 6/200C. Unroll the pastry onto a baking sheet and, using the point of a sharp knife, make a line all the way round the pastry 2cm in from the edge.

Toss the courgettes and garlic with the olive oil and lots of seasoning.

Mix the mascarpone with half the parmesan and spread inside the border line of the pastry. Arrange the courgette slices in overlapping rows on top.

Bake for 15 minutes then scatter with the rest of the parmesan. Bake for another 15-20 minutes.

Serve hot with salad.

And nice cold next day for lunch.

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