33*52 Zucchini, Quinoa & Goat Cheese Tart

I really needed some savory baking again and this delicious-sounding recipe had been waiting on Pinterest for a while now...

And have I talked about quinoa here before? I don't think so.
Well, there's actually not much to say except: I absolutely love it (and it is really good for you).

So after a very long intro last week, let's make this short & sweet (this time not literally though):

Zucchini, Quinoa & Goat Cheese Tart

Adapted from Small Plates, Sweet Treats by Aran Goyoaga via Sarah Wilson

Crust:

200 g (1 1/4 cup + tablespoon) flour

50 g (1/4 cup) quinoa, rinsed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil

125 ml (1/2 cup) cold water

Filling:

50 g (1/4 cup) quinoa, rinsed

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 medium zucchini, grated

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 spring onions or 1 small onion, finely chopped
a handful of dried tomatoes, cut into small stripes

3 eggs

60 g (2 oz) creme fraiche or heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

60 g (2 oz) goat cheese, crumbled or diced

• Cook all quinoa (for the crust and for the filling). Make the crust with half of the cooked quinoa: combine all ingredients using your food processor or your hands until you have a smooth dough. Transfer the dough to your tart pan (round or square, about 23 cm/9 in) and distribute evenly using your hands. (If you insist on using a rolling pin, refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before rolling it out.) Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Blind bake crust for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment paper and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool while still keeping the oven on but reduce the heat to 180°C (360°F).
• For the filling, place the grated zucchini in a bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Transfer to a colander and let strain for about 15 minutes.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the zucchini and onion, and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the other half of the cooked quinoa. Remove from heat, add dried tomatoes, and set aside.
• In a bowl, whisk together eggs, creme fraiche, 1 teaspoon salt, lemon zest, and pepper. Spread zucchini over crust, pour egg-mix over it, top with goat cheese.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.

My modifications:

The original crust recipe uses a mix of different gluten-free flours. I just used regular flour because I didn't have those other flours at home, plus I don't need it to be gluten-free. I just thought I would give the cooked quinoa a try in the crust as well.

I didn't have any spring onions at hand so I used a regular onion.
I added the dried tomatoes to give it a bit more flavor.

I had the goat cheese at home that you can't crumble (the one that's a bit more solid and comes in a roll), so I just diced it. It does have a different flavor to the one that you can crumble (which is a bit more like cream cheese) but I still like it a lot.

The taste:

Very good! I just love the nutty taste of the quinoa and it is a perfect combination with the other ingredients. A great lunch or dinner option for summer and fall. You can serve it as it is or with a bit of (tomato) salad and grilled sausage for the carnivores.

Do you have a favorite savory baked summer dish?

20*52 Peach Tart

My grandma requested this cake.

Actually no, that's not true.

I asked her what cake I should make to bring when we visit her. She wanted Bienenstich (which means bee sting in English), a typical German cake. But Bienenstich has a filling of either whipped cream or a pudding-like vanilla cream and both are not really suitable for a 3-4 hour drive in warmer weather. But that's how long we need to get to her. She couldn't think of an alternative but said: nothing dry, no cake.

Okaaaayyyy....

 

This made me think of something with fruit. So I flipped through the pages of my fruit cake book and came across the Peach Tart recipe.
And my grandma loved it. What more could you ask for.

Peach Tart

Adapted from Obstkuchen

1 big can of peaches (about 500 g net weight)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

200 g heavy cream

100 g sugar

1 tablespoon starch

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

75 g butter

250 g strudel, yufka or filo dough

• Drain the peaches and set aside.
• Whisk together eggs, cream, vanilla, sugar, starch, and lemon peel.
• Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F). Line a tarte form (or quiche form or springform pan) with parchment paper.
• Melt the butter. Put two sheets of dough in form so that they hang over the sides. Brush with a bit of the melted butter. Put another sheet of dough on top. Continue until you used up all the dough. Put the peach halves on the last sheet of dough and pour egg mixture over it.
• Bake on the second lowest oven rack for about 40 minutes.

My modifications:

I used canned peaches instead of fresh ones. It saves time and I think that it is totally okay for baking.

The dough that was hanging over the edge of the form burned so I had to break it off but it still looked pretty enough so I probably wouldn't bother cutting it off before baking next time.

The taste:

Very peachy, juicy, summery. And so quick and easy. Definitely a keeper.

What was the last cake you baked upon someone's request?

36/52 Plum Tart

It's plum season! Yay!

And because I was on a short vacation last week and don't want to ruin my relaxed mood yet (it will be ruined tomorrow - Monday - anyway), let's bake something really quick and easy but delicious, of course. That's when we come back to the opening exclamation of this post:

It's plum season! Yay!

Plum Tart

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine July 2012

2 tablespoons almonds

1 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1 sheet puff pastry (thawed if frozen)

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon milk (or heavy cream)

10 plums, pitted and cut into thin slices

3 tablespoons apricot jam, heated until loose

• Pulse almonds, sugar and flour in food processor until ground finely.
• Roll out puff pastry on baking parchment (if not already on it) and make a small border on all sides by folding a bit of the pastry dough inwards.
• Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) (or according to pastry instructions).
• Whisk together egg and milk and brush pastry with it, putting a bit more on the borders. Sprinkle almond mix over center of pastry. Evenly place plum slices in rows on pastry.
• Bake until edges are golden brown (mine needed 20 minutes but please check your pastry instructions). Brush plums with warm jam and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(before & after baking)

My modifications:

The original recipe sprinkles one additional tablespoon sugar over the plums before baking. I didn't feel this necessary and did not miss it at all.

I used milk instead of heavy cream for the egg mix to brush on and I brushed it on the whole pastry, not just the borders because I didn't want to waste that much of it.

The original recipe uses frozen pastry that is thawed, then suggests to freeze it for 30 minutes after rolling it out and for another 30 minutes after arranging the plums on it. I used cooled (but not frozen) pastry and did not see the need for any in-between freezing (and the results proved me right). I also only needed 20 minutes of baking at 200°C (390°F) compared to the original 40 minutes at 190°C (375°F). I can only assume that American puff pastry and German puff pastry are different (maybe also in size?), so I suggest that you just read the instructions of your pastry package. This should be the safest bet for finding the correct baking temperature and time.

Oh, and I used low-fat puff pastry. Still very good with a bit less calories from fat.

The taste: 

Heavenly! I want to make it again tomorrow. And the day after. And every single day after that. And maybe with tomatoes.

And it really is so simple! Please do try it right away - you won't be sorry!

What's your favorite puff pastry recipe? Sweet or savory?