Serves 6
(From a lovely recipe book by Camilla Stephens ‘The Higgidy Cookbook’.)
For the Savoury Shortcrust Pastry:
- 200g/7oz plain flour
- A generous pinch of salt
- 100g/3½oz unsalted butter
- 30g/1oz Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1 medium egg yolk, beaten
- About 3 tablespoons of ice-cold water
For the filling:
- 3 salmon fillets (approximately 350g)
- Tablespoon of lemon juice
- Knob of unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, finely sliced
- 200g/7½oz new potatoes, par-boiled and cut into 1.5/1″ chunks
- 50g watercress (leaves picked off and the thick stalks thrown away), finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons of fresh dill, finely chopped
- 3 medium eggs, beaten
- 300ml double cream
- ½ teaspoon of pink peppercorns, lightly crushed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sift the flour and salt together. Add the butter cubes and ‘rub together’ until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the finely grated parmesan cheese.
Sprinkle over the beaten egg yolk and water. With a blunt knife, mix together until the pastry begins to come together. Use your hands to gather the final bits and then knead lightly on your work surface to ensure your pastry is smooth. Flatten to a disc, wrap in cling film and pop into the fridge to chill.
Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 5/400ºF and put in a baking sheet to heat up.
Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and soften the finely sliced onion. After about 8 minutes, transfer the onion to a bowl to cool.
Par-boil the new potatoes until soft to the point of a knife but with a little resistance. Cut into 1.5cm/1″ chunks and transfer to a bowl to cool.
Place the salmon fillets onto a large sheet of foil placed on a baking tray. Sprinkle over the lemon juice and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pull the sides up and scrunch the joins together to make a neat parcel. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Once cooked, unwrap and put to one side to cool.
Finely chop the watercress and dill.
Prepare a loose-bottomed rectangular flan tin, 30cm x 20cm, by brushing with melted butter.
Once the pastry has chilled, roll to a 3mm thickness and transfer to the tart tin. Pass a rolling pin across the top of the tin to remove the excess pastry and push the pastry against the sides to give a neat finish. Let the pastry stand a little proud of the rim. Prink the base with a fork and return to the fridge for a second 30 minutes.
Once chilled, remove the uncooked pastry case from the fridge. Scrunch up a sheet of baking parchment and line the flan tin, filling with baking beans. Place on the hot baking tray in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Take the flan out and remove the paper and baking beans. Return the flan to the oven for a final 5 minutes. Leave to cool.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4/350ºF.
When you are ready to bake, scatter the cooled and cooked onions evenly over the base. Follow that with the potatoes. Then, thickly flake the salmon and discard the skin. Evenly scatter the salmon over the potatoes. Next the chopped watercress and dill, leaving a little to sprinkle on the top.
Whisk together the cream and the eggs. Season with salt and pour into the pastry case. Sprinkle over the remaining watercress and dill. Finally, scatter with pink peppercorns.
Place on the hot baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes until the filling has just set and the top is turning golden.
(Aga: There is no need to blind bake your pastry case. After the second chill, arrange the cooled filling and cook on the floor of the roasting oven. Check after 20 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly and the pastry isn’t cooked, slide a cold baking sheet above it to provide a heat shield.)
Remove from the tin. Eat.