Tarts, Sweet and Savoury by Maxine Clark

Maxine Clark's upbringing in Scotland has stood her in good stead when it comes to pastry making and she comes to the fore in her new book, Tarts, Sweet and Savoury. Tarts cross a wide spectrum from delicacies served at cocktail parties to casual lunch or supper dishes and as a comforting finale to a meal and Maxine runs the whole gamut here.

Bare in mind that ready-made pastry contains hydrogenated vegetable fat so it is worth going that extra bit further to make your own. Pastry making can engender the same fear in cooks as bread making. But you must remember that it can be made in a food processor, which is especially useful if you have especially hot hands.

If you have the time, follow the simple instructions and try making your own pastry. The cheat's rough puff pastry really does work but you need to work fast. Pâté frolle, almond pastry, is made in France and Italy. Overworking it makes it become tough, otherwise the results should be crisp and light. Virtually impossible to roll, it can be pushed into a tin and pressed into position so those of you who are rolling pin shy, this is the one for you.

Some useful tart tips
Rolling pastry out on non-stick baking parchment or cling film gives it better manoeuvrability.

Set out two chopsticks either side of the dough before rolling ensures that you achieve the desired thickness.

There should be no need to grease the tin as pastry has fat in it.

Raw pastry benefits from chilling, making it keep its shape. Maxine suggests freezing the pastry-lined tin before baking blind. Even fifteen minutes can make a difference.

So with the basics out of the way, you can set yourself loose amongst the lavishly photographed pages and choose from some traditional tarts, even the classic Quiche Lorraine makes an appearance and even more comforting pudding tarts. On the savoury front, take a look at Roquefort tart with walnut and toasted garlic dressing. Crab meat gets a dressing up in crab meat and sweet pickled chilli tart, which would be perfect on a summer's day, served with avocado salsa.

Full marks have to go the sweet tarts though. They are all worthy of a mention but the most original has to be Jacks' rose petal tart. It is a puff pastry case filled with Greek yoghurt and cream, flavoured with rosewater. Its crowning glory is crystallized rose petals. This is fairly simple to achieve. Whisk an egg white until frothy and then paint onto clean dry petals. Sprinkle with caster sugar so that the petals are completely coated. Arrange on a tray or rack and leave in a warm place to dry out and crisp overnight. Cool and then store between layers of kitchen paper in an airtight container.

This book proves that there is hope yet to the cooks out there who have previously shied away from pastry making. You no longer need a granny to tell you how as Maxine Clark has put her years of experience into developing foolproof recipes for all pastries. However, if you are still a little wary, use the ready-made variety and follow Maxine's advice, ‘Go ahead and tackle a tart today.'

Publication details:
144 pp. Photography by Martin Brigdale. £16.99
Published by Ryland Peters & Small
ISBN 184172419X
2003


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