April: Spring Vegetable Tart & Garlicky New Potatoes

The clocks have moved forward, and we are officially in Spring time. This month’s recipe is a bit of a ‘two for the price of one’ as we wanted to make full use of the abundance of wild garlic that is growing locally. Wild garlic can be used for many things but here we have paired it with new potatoes to serve alongside a spring vegetable tart. If you are looking to add more protein to the recipe you could easily swap the new potatoes for a tin of chickpeas. Just rinse and warm them through and then add the same garlicky dressing.

You will find wild garlic growing in damp woodland conditions. The large flat leaves appear above ground from January and it begins to bloom in April through to May. Wild garlic can be used in many recipes where you would normally use garlic as well as making a great green pesto. The Woodland trust have some top tips for foraging wild garlic here: Foraging and How to Make Wild Garlic Pesto – Woodland Trust . If you are not able to find any locally an alternative for this recipe is to use rocket leaves with some crushed garlic cloves.

In this recipe we have used a block of readymade puff pastry. Most ready-made puff pastry is vegan. You can buy pastry as a block or a ready-rolled sheet. Both are fine to use. If you buy a block, you’ll need a rolling pin to roll it out. If you’d like to have a go at making your own there are many recipes available online. Try searching for a rough-puff pastry to begin with.

You can choose any vegetables for the tart topping, the list here just a suggestion. Have a look at your local market or greengrocer to see what is in season and plentiful. By buying seasonal produce you are eating the food when it is at its best and supporting the local economy.

Serves 4-6 Prep time 10 minutes Cooking time 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the Tart

• 500g Puff pastry
• 2 tablespoons of grainy mustard
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Selections of colourful, seasonal vegetables such as;
• 1 pepper chopped onto bite sized pieces
• 1 red onion chopped into bite sized pieces
• 5/6 asparagus spears or spring onions
• Handful of cherry tomatoes halved

For the garlicky new potatoes

• 800g washed new potatoes, larger ones halved
• 2/4 tablespoons of olive oil
• Handful of washed wild garlic leaves (or a handful of rocket leaves with 2 cloves of garlic) roughly chopped.
• 1 tablespoon of French mustard
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• Pinch of dried Italian herbs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180oc
2. Roll out the pastry onto a sheet of baking paper to the thickness of a pound coin. Using the baking paper to help lift it onto a baking try.  Gently create a 2cm boarder using a blunt knife, be careful not to go through the pastry. Spread a thin layer of mustard onto the base.  Set aside while you cook the potatoes and vegetables.
3. Toss the potatoes in olive oil and pop them into the oven for about 30 minutes. Prepare the garlicky dressing by adding the chopped wild garlic (or rocket leave and crushed garlic) to a large bowl along with the mustard and vinegar. Set the bowl of leaves aside for later.
4. Next, using a shallow pan heat the oil. Add the onion, pepper and mixed herbs and cook over a medium to high heat for 3-5 minutes until the pepper and onions start to soften. When they are cooked place on top of the pastry and use the same pan to cook add any thinner, smaller vegetables, such as asparagus and cherry tomtates and lightly cook them for 2-3 minutes.  When they are lightly cooked add them on top of the other vegetables.  You should have a colourful pile of veg on top of the pastry base.
5. Pop the tart into the into the oven and cook for about 15 minutes until the sides have puffed up and the pastry is golden. Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.
6. When the potatoes are cooked removed them from the oven and while they are still hot toss them into the bowl with the chopped leaves and mix well. Serve alongside the spring tart.

Click here to print the recipe: April Spring Tart Recipe 

Click here for the shopping list: Shopping list April Spring Tarts

What’s in season this month?

April is a busy month for gardeners and growers, its a good time for planting and harvesting the spring crop. Look out for rhubarb, purple sprouting broccoli, spring cabbages, cucumbers, asparagus, wild garlic and spring onions.