ROAST CARROT & HARISSA TART

Good Cooking Every Day by Julia Busuttil Nishimura

I love making pastry and I am always thinking up new things I can turn into a tart or pie. One drizzly wintry day, I bought some beautiful carrots at the market and had a craving for something comforting. I had originally planned to make a tarte tatin, but settled instead on a beautiful free-form tart. I decided the carrots would be more flavourful this way. They pair so wonderfully with the harissa, which you can increase or reduce, depending on your preference, and it is all complemented by a little herb salad and some crème fraîche. Top the tart just before serving.

SERVES 4–6

INGREDIENTS

900 g carrots of varying colours, trimmed

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

sea salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon harissa paste

1 egg, for egg wash

100 g labneh to serve

FLAKY PASTRY

250 g plain flour

125 g cold unsalted butter, cubed

good pinch of sea salt

1 teaspoon white vinegar

80–100 ml iced water

HERB SALAD

small handful each of dill fronds and parsley leaves, roughly torn

40 g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

1 shallot, finely sliced

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil juice of ½ lemon

sea salt and black pepper

RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 185°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Cut the carrots in half lengthways, then into halves crossways. Place in a large bowl and add the olive oil, honey, fennel seeds and red wine vinegar. Season to taste with salt and mix well to coat the carrots. Tip the carrots, along with any liquid, onto the tray. Dot the carrots with the butter and roast for 35–40 minutes or until the carrots are cooked through and nicely caramelised. Spoon on the harissa and toss to coat. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, for the flaky pastry, mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour to create flat pieces of butter coated by the flour. For a flaky dough, it is important not to overmix the butter. Drizzle in the vinegar and enough of the iced water to just bring the dough together (you might not need all of it). It will still be shaggy, but should hold together when pressed. If there are dry or floury spots, sprinkle in a little more water, a teaspoon at a time, until the dough just comes together. Flatten into a thick disc about 10–12 cm in diameter, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Line a 30 cm round baking tray with baking paper.

Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to make it easier to roll. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to form a large disc, about 3 mm thick, massaging the edge as you roll to prevent it from cracking too much. Drape the pastry over the tray. Arrange the carrot mixture on the pastry, leaving a 5 cm border. Fold the pastry edge towards the centre of the tart, pinching as you go to seal in the filling and form a galette. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 190°C fan-forced.

Whisk the egg with 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl, then brush the egg wash over the pastry. Bake the tart for 45–50 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through and nicely golden. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

While the tart is cooling, make the herb salad by combining the dill, parsley, walnuts and shallot in a small bowl. Drizzle on the olive oil and lemon juice and season to taste.

Spoon the labneh over the tart filling, top with the herb salad and serve.