Cheese Tart with Courgette Flowers

This is the time, the courgette flowers are thriving and there is nothing better then pick them fresh from your garden. Because they flower in succession usually you never have enough for your recipe but you can store them in a zip-lock plastic bag in the fridge for 2-3 days until you have enough.

This is a variation never tried before but I can assure you that it worked well.

Recipe x 4 (starter)

16 Courgette flowers or the more the better

150g Mozzarella cube (now this is not the real deal but work well in this recipe because release less water when cooked)

5-6 anchovies or anchovies paste to taste

Pastry:

75g butter at room temperature

175g plain flour

25g parmigiano reggiano finely grated

Water enough to make a dough

1 beaten egg to seal the pastry

First make up the pastry by mixing the butter with the flour and the cheese then add just enough cold water to make a smooth dough. Place the dough to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. Then roll it out on a tray as thin as possible and bake 15-20 minutes at 180^o C. Let cool and keep it until needed (is good on its own as well).

A good tip to prevent the pastry becoming soggy is to brush a little beaten egg on top and put back in the oven at 180^o C, for 5 minutes – this helps to provide a seal for the pastry before adding the other ingredients on top.

Now add the mozzarella and the anchovies and put in the oven until the mozzarella is melted then add the courgette flowers, brush them with the remaining beaten egg and olive oil, bake for further 5 minutes and

Enjoy