Sunday 9 October 2011

Vegetable & blue cheese tart with traditional Finnish pastry



Finns have a penchant for blue cheese so I have noticed, however I don’t recall being served blue cheese as a kid, unless Mum snuck it in! As I have recently reduced meat in my diet I have started to really enjoy trying out new vegetable dishes.

This recipe was inspired by the Nordic Bakery Cookbook and is simply divine! You can fill it with any vegetables you like. And for even the die-hard meat lover that is my husband, it was a hit. He ate it for breakfast. If you don’t like blue cheese you can omit it and just add cheddar. I use Mersey Valley crumbly vintage which is just dreamy.

I use my grandmother’s traditional ricotta pastry which is used in a lot of Finnish pasties and pastry sweets. This is the same pastry I use to make Finnish Joulutorttu as featured here.


250g plain flour
250g unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
250g ricotta
Mix the flour and cubed butter together with your fingers to make a crumby consistency. Once crumbs have formed add the ricotta and combine well to make dough. Roll out into a disc shape, cover with cling wrap and place into the fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile roast the vegetables. I roasted the following vegetables however you can add whatever vegetables you like. I would avoid overly watery vegetables otherwise your tart may wind up soggy.
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 bunch of broccolini
8 mushrooms, halved
½ zucchini, diced
½ brown onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
Place into a baking dish with generous lashings of olive oil and freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Roast for approx 15 minutes at 200oC. Don’t overcook as the vegetables will cook more in the pastry case. Strain, put aside to cool slightly.
Take the pastry dough out of the fridge, roll out on a floured surface, fold into 3 like an envelope and roll out again. You need to make a circular shape to cover a 28cm flan tin, at about 10mm thickness. Once rolled out, gently lift the dough with the rolling pin and place into the greased tin. Press into the sides and cut off any excess. Place the strained vegetables into the pastry case, cover evenly with 50g crumbled blue cheese and 100g grated cheddar cheese, bake in oven for approx 25 minutes. The pastry will need to be slightly golden brown and crispy to touch.
The aroma of this tart fresh out the oven is just mouth-watering!



8 comments:

  1. The pic of that tart fresh out of the oven is just mouth-watering.
    :-)

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  2. Thanks Shar, been playing with my new camera. I really love food photography, am keen on learning how to take great food shots. :)

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  3. Well this dish will surely feature next time Mum and Dad come for dinner (Dad's a vegetarian and am always on the look out for delicous v dishes)!

    p.s Is that a Marimekko serviette?! Where does one find one of those?!!!

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  4. It is SO easy and very delicious Teresa, you won't be disappointed. You can eat it cold but fresh out of the oven is best.

    That is a Marimekko teatowel, I got them online however can't remember the online store where I bought them. You can get them here though: http://www.finnstyle.com/marimekko-tea-towels.html
    I think that is about the same price I paid. I also got an umbrella, pot holder, socks, coin purse, apron...obsessed much? haha I also have some wall hangings I made out of Unikko fabric I got online. We have stores in Perth that stock it all but SO expensive. Oh BBQs Galore also stock Marimekko napkins, I have about 5 or 6 various patterns. And they're about $5 a packet.

    Enjoy! xo

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  5. Um, yes, my mouth is officially watering... part of the hazard of reading blogs late at night, posts like this make me so hungry! ;o)
    Looks divine xo

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  6. I never got to like blue cheese even though I like strong cheese so that is why you never got to taste it as a child.

    I got Marimekko from Washington DC US had Marimekko outlet and now that our dollar is almost same, might be a cheaper way of buying some. I've noticed you also have the over 100 yeard old knife and fork with bone handle on your photo..nice!

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  7. Julie I know what you mean, I am always drooling over food posts! I get very inspired to try new stuff that people post. I love your sweet treats that you share. :)

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  8. Mum blue cheese is such a unique taste, I don't like it on its own but crumbled throughout this tart is quite nice. It has a very distinct smell when cooked too. I am pretty sure I would not have liked it as a kid!

    I tried to find that site we used to get stuff from but couldn't find it, although I was searching only as 'Washington', I might try with the DC US on it too. Definitely cheaper to buy online nowadays. Yes the bone cutlery is part of that set I have, very nice hey. :) xo

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