Considering my last post was a review of Rowley Leigh’s book No Place like Home and I didn’t have to work this morning – yes bliss, Monday mornings are hard enough without having to work – it seemed appropriate I made something from the aforementioned book.
I would probably have been a little less inclined to launch into a puff pastry Tian if I hadn’t had a large square of puff pastry sitting in the fridge. I had made it the other day in preparation for a tart tatin, the one I keep promising myself. The tart never happened and the pastry was tucked safely into the freezer. Safely that was, until last night when Vincenzo pointed out the freezer, which isn’t really much more than a shelf for ice cubes, was making strange noises. We investigated, and the root of the problem was quickly identified……chronic over filling, or should I say chronic over stuffing. Vincenzo was too busy huffing and wrenching out bags and Tupperware filed with un- identifiable frozen liquids to appreciate and marvel at quite how much stuff I had managed to force into such a small space. Anyway the freezer is no longer making strange noises and I have a square of puff pastry, a bag of defrosted peas, two containers of chicken stock and 4 chickens feet to utilize asap.
I have made this Tian several times now and taken the liberty of slightly modifying RL’s recipe . I do generally make the puff pastry, but only rough puff and I use Simon Hopkinson’s recipe. I make it because I like all the folding, but I have no hesitation in buying it.
So about this Tian…. served still just warm, buttery, flaky puff pasty, golden brown topped with meltingly creamy slices of aubergine and vine ripened tomatoes, a hint of rosemary and touch of Parmesan….alongside a big green salad you have a quite delicious lunch
Note: puff pastry is always better made several hours or even the day before
Serves 6
For the puff pastry (you will need about half of this for the Tian) : 225g strong plain flour. a pinch of salt, 225g cold unsalted butter cut into small peices, juice of half a lemon, 150ml iced water.
For the Tian: 300g puff pastry, 600g aubergines, 600g ripe tomatoes, 4 cloves of garlic, a sprig of rosemary, 200ml olive oil, freshly grated parmesan. extra olive oil, slat and freshly ground black pepper.
Make your pastry; sift the flour and salt in a large bowl and add the butter and very loosely (not normal rubbing in) mix the two together. Mix the lemon juice with the iced water and add to the butter/flour mixture. Gently mix until you have a cohesive mass.
Turn the mass onto a cool, well floured surface and shape into a thick rectangle, gently roll it out until the rectangle is about 18 x 10cm. Fold one third of the pastry over towards the center and fold the remaining third over that – remember this position. Gently press the folds together and put in the fridge to rest for 10 minutes.
Return the pastry to the same position and then rotate by 90°. As before roll the pastry out to about 18 x 10 and fold and then rest as before.
Repeat this little dance of turning, rolling, folding and resting 3…..yes 3 more times and then cover with clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for several hours or even better, over night.
Make the Tian
Roll out a ball of puff pastry into a circle (about 26cm across) and leave to rest on a baking tray in the fridge.
Slice the augergine into discs about 5mm thick. Toss the slices in oil and then fry them in a frying pan, do this in batches, until they are golden brown and cooked through. Set them aside.
Peel the tomatoes by plunging in boiling water for 10 seconds and then refreshing in very cold water so you can slip the skins off easily, remove the hard core and slice the tomatoes the same thickness as the aubergines.
Peel and slice the garlic very very thinly. Separate the rosemary leaves from the stem and crush them lightly with the back of a knife.
Sprinkle your puff pastry circle with parmesan, being careful to leave a 1.5 cm border of pastry and then arrange the aubergines and tomatoes in overlapping layers and tucking the slivers of garlic and rosemary amongst the slices while you go, remember to leave the 1.5cm border. Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and dribble a little olive oil over the surface.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180° for 35minutes. As soon as it is cooked, tranfer to a wire rack and finely grate some parmesan over the top before leaving to cool.
