Give the pastry a good kneading for a minute or so to soften it. As they soften, stir in the thyme leaves and a grinding of black pepper. (I use a 28cm pan, 7cm high.) They should be tender enough to crush between finger and thumb. Warm the olive oil in a wide, shallow-sided pan, add the shallots and let them cook, over a low to moderate heat, for a good 25 minutes or until soft and pale gold. Peel the shallots, cut them in half lengthways and cut each half into pencil-thick segments. Wrap the dough in kitchen parchment and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. Mix to a firm and rollable dough with the iced water. Stir in the polenta and then the olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Make the pastry: sieve together the flour and baking powder into a bowl to make sure they are evenly mixed. Serves 6įor the pastry: plain flour 200g baking powder ½ tsp, plus a little extra fine polenta 50g olive oil 70ml, plus extra to finish iced water 5 tbspįor the filling: banana shallots 700g, large olive oil 3 tbsp thyme 2 tbsp leaves, plus sprigs to finish tomatoes 250g, small garlic 1 clove True to form, it was a brilliant idea, the pastry ending up beautifully crisp and light. Then I noticed that baker Dan Lepard uses a little baking powder in his. I have been trying to make a decent olive oil pastry for some time, but the results were never quite what I wanted. If the oven is on, baking seems a good way to go. The flavour seems more intense when their skins have caught in the heat of the oven than when I simmer them on the hob, though that works too. This summer I have been baking gooseberries with sugar and a few drops of elderflower cordial before making them into a fool. Peaches, torn in half and baked with crème fraîche and brown sugar raspberries crushed and stirred with whipped cream and crumbled brandy snaps and of course tart currants and berries made into a custard-cup dessert. There is barely a day without scarlet and fragrant fruit on the table. The summer fruit is ravishing, with currants, berries and peaches at their most sublime. It seemed the perfect vehicle for all the tomatoes that are turning up at the moment, the fat and squashy sort with green stripes, tiddly gardener’s delight and sweet yellow fruit shaped like pears. This time made without dairy produce, its pastry crisp and crumbly. On the table this week was a free-form tomato tart, its edges rough and ready, the filling a joyous mixture of scarlet tomato juices and soft, sweet onions. You can almost feel the kitchen breathing a sigh of relief. This often happens during the dog days of summer. The sense of urgency that so often precedes dinner has all but dissolved. Fruit and vegetables are abundant, desserts are little more than assemblies of ripe fruits and cream. Food is put on the table for everyone to help themselves – a slice or two of seasonally inspired tart, a spoonful of salad, a glass jug of ice-cold cordial – and dinner is made up of dishes that are just as good warm as they are hot. This kitchen has slipped into an even more laid-back mood than usual.
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