Radish tart
Looking to impress? This summertime savoury tart is a celebration of crisp, spicy English radishes.
Ingredients
For the cream cheese filling
- 2–3 garlic cloves
- 1–2 tbsp olive oil
- 200g/7oz cream cheese
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (such as mint, parsley, dill and thyme)
- 1 lemon, juice only
- sea salt
- white pepper
For the chopped radish layer
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú radishes, washed and roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, juice only
- sea salt
- white pepper
For the radish jelly
- 4 radishes, roughly chopped
- 250ml/9fl oz rice vinegar
- 250ml/9fl oz cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- agar agar (1.5g per 100ml/3½fl oz radish juice)
For the feuille de brick pastry cases
To decorate
- 2 radishes, thinly sliced
- olive oil or rapeseed oil
- edible flowers
- sea salt
- white pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Put the garlic and a splash of olive oil into some kitchen foil and wrap them up into a parcel. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes until soft and cooked all the way through.
Spoon the cream cheese into a bowl along with the roasted garlic and all the other filling ingredients. Mix well, season with sea salt and white pepper if necessary, then transfer to a piping bag. Set aside.
Mix all the radish layer ingredients together and season with sea salt and white pepper. Chill until needed.
For the radish jelly, put all the ingredients except the agar agar into a saucepan over a medium heat and gently bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 30 minutes to infuse.
Once infused, strain through a sieve. Weigh the resulting pink radish juice and add 1.5g agar agar per 100ml/3½fl oz radish juice. Pour the mixture back into a pan and mix well. Bring to the boil over a high heat and whisk. Continue to boil for 2–3 minutes to activate the agar agar.
Meanwhile, cover a flat tray with cling film. Carefully pour the radish juice onto the tray and leave somewhere flat to set. This should take about 30 minutes or so. Once set, cut out with a tart cutter and chill until needed.
Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Lay the first sheet of pastry onto the work surface and brush with the melted butter. Lay the second sheet on top and press down all over with your hand. Now cut the pastry out and press it into a metal tart case, then place an identical metal tart case on top. Trim around the edge using a sharp knife.
Transfer the tart to a baking tray, then place another baking tray on top to help the pastry stay inside the moulds. Cook in the oven for 10–12 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and carefully extract the pastry case.
To assemble, pipe a layer of cream cheese filling across the bottom of the pastry case. Next, spoon over a layer of chopped radishes and level it out so it’s even. Place the sliced radishes on top and season with a little sea salt, white pepper and olive or rapeseed oil. Lay the chilled radish jelly on top carefully. Decorate the tart with edible flowers and serve as soon as you can to prevent it from becoming soft.
