Polenta Tarts with Beetroot and Mushroom Fillings

Ingredients:

Base

200g coarse polenta

½ tsp salt

1 cup boiling water

100g self-raising flour (gluten free)

30ml olive oil

½ tsp baking powder

Butter, for greasing

Beetroot filling

2 small beetroots

Greek extra virgin olive oil

Salt

1 tbsp red wine vinegar, optional

200g marinated goat’s cheese

Baby beetroot leaves or sorrel, to garnish

Mushroom and spinach filling

50g butter

3 sprigs lemon thyme, plus extra to garnish

Handful of whole button mushrooms

Handful of shall Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced

3 pine mushrooms, sliced (or any other mushrooms)

Salt

Pepper

1 onion, grated or finely diced

500g baby spinach leaves

100g kasseri cheese, to serve

Custard

3 whole eggs

200ml milk

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced.

To make the bases, put the polenta and salt in a large bowl and add the boiling water. Stir vigorously to prevent lumps forming. When smooth add the flour, oil and baking powder, and mix to combine, ensuring there are no lumps, you may need to use your hands to ensure the ingredients are incorporated.

Thoroughly butter the flan tins. Take half of the dough and, with wet hands, mould and spread it over the bottom of the tin and up the sides. The dough is a wet dough, so take your time, have a bowl of water ready to regularly wet your hands, and ensure the dough is evenly distributed over the base and sides of the tin. It should be about 0.5 centimetres thick. Neaten the edges with a knife or your fingers. Repeat with the second flan tin, then place both tins on a large baking tray. Set aside while you prepare your filling.

To prepare the beetroots, drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Wrap them in foil and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender when tested with a skewer.

Meanwhile, prepare the mushrooms. Heat the butter with the lemon thyme in a frying pan large enough to hold the mushrooms without crowding. Once the pan is hot, add all the mushrooms and cook quickly to sear them. Season the mushrooms and set aside to cool.

Clean the frypan, then saute the onions with the olive oil until soft and translucent. Put the washed baby spinach in a bowl and put the hot onion mixture over it. Season with salt and pepper and toss well, until the leaves have started to wilt.

Remove the beetroots from the oven, leaving the oven on. Peel the beetroots and cut them into wedges, approximately 6 per beetroot. While still hot, sprinkle with salt, red wine vinegar, if using, and a drizzle of olive oil. Toss and set aside to allow the beetroots to absorb the flavours.

In a bowl beat the eggs with the milk until combined. Add the salt and pepper and mix through.

Divide the spinach and onion mixture between the bases. Spread the mushrooms evenly over the spinach. Pour half of the custard into the tin.

Arrange the beetroot in the other tin and top with the remaining custard.

Bake both tarts for 30-45 minutes. Note that the beetroot will bleed into the custard, creating a beautiful pinkish colour in the tart.

Remove both tarts from the oven, ensuring the custard has set.

Immediately shave the kasseri cheese over the top of the spinach and mushroom tart, and sprinkle with the thyme leaves.

Allow the beetroot tart to cool a little before crumbling the goat’s cheese over it and topping with the baby beetroot or sorrel leaves. You don’t want the tart to be so hot that it melts the cheese.