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I've seen a couple of summer tart recipes on blogs this week so decided to make one of my own.
Homemade pastry of course, which turned out so tough I had to slice it with a carving knife, hoping not to slice off a finger as well. Then a smothering of chilli mustard over the pastry, a layer of fried onions, a layer of fried zucchini slices, some grated feta. The feta had been sitting in the fridge awhile and was rather dry so it grated easily.
A layer of sliced tomatoes, mostly homegrown, salt, pepper, a sprinkling of freshly rubbed dried oregano. See the oregano on the right in the photo above. It had just been rubbed finely by hand and the pungent smell of oregano was incredible.
Grated yellow cheese, regatto in this case, an Irish cheese which melts perfectly. And into the oven.
So what went wrong besides the rock hard pastry?
Next time, if there is ever another time, I would sprinkle a little sugar over the tomatoes. They were far too acidic. I would skip the zucchini, double the mustard and the onions and add some sliced spicy sausage. Oh and I would definitely leave out the feta. That strong cheese taste was just too much for the vegetables. It just needs a little grated regatto or gouda, something to make it soft and gooey.
And puff pastry
Traditional people did not like this tart. I didn't like it either but I ate my piece with a smile on my face so I didn't get any flak about terrible tarts and a waste of time and money. Now half the tart is waiting for me in the fridge to eat for lunch for the next few days, I will surreptitiously slice off as much as possible and hope the cats will eat it.
Pizza stuck to the pizza tray
Having written this I just realised this is one of three food disasters today. And guess what, our neighbour popped in early this morning and again tonight. This is the neighbour who leaves a trail of bad luck behind her. I've had flat cakes, broken vases, an oil leak in the car, a ruptured water pipe and many more catastrophies, all following a 'friendly' visit. She's the best of neighbours, always friendly , always with time for a chat but the garlic over the front gate and spirited spitting does not dispel that 'evil eye'.
We started off with an inedible tart, K followed up this evening with fried fish that broke up in the frying pan and now poor grandson found his 'giga' pizza only just fitted into an ordinary sized pizza pan and it stuck so hard and fast we had to leave half of it behind and soak the pan to remove the crust.
So that terrible tart wasn't my fault after all!!!
another ps
We always keep a couple of frozen pizzas in the freezer in case starving teenage grandson pops in. This one not only stuck to the pan but it was bloody horrible and even he couldn't eat the soggy, gummy filling. Unfortunately we have another two of them.
He'll have to fill up on icecream instead. Poor kid!
I'm off outside to fill up the cats bowl. The wild cats will eat anything. They'll love the fish, wonder if the pie and pizza will get tthe same attention
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Pretty spot-on, then!! I wonder whether you are judging it too harshly because the traditional people didn't like it - perhaps I'd better nip round and try a slice.
ReplyDeleteIt was the evil eye!!! I wrote a post script . Must write a post about it!
DeleteIn that case, your reputation as a cook remains intact, the tart was blighted by malign forces beyond your control. Does she suffer lots of disasters/bad happenings to herself, as well, or does she just leave troubles in her wake?
DeleteJust leaves them in her wake, inbetween getting down on her knees to pray, lighting candles in every church and attending every service and helping in one of the monasteries! A more holy persoN you cannot find. She would probably be horrified by all the mayhem, but she sure leaves a trail of destruction behind her!
DeleteHey, everyone is allowed a mistake, now and then!!! "Fiddle-sticks" to anyone complaining about it!!!
ReplyDeleteJust tell 'em I said so! Heh, heh,heh...
The idea of a summer tart like this, sounds very delicious though.
Really sorry about the home made pastry, not working for you! That is rude!!! All the trouble of making it and baking it, and it was hard. Very, very rude!
:-)
Go back and read the postscript I wrote just now! It wasn't fault after all!!!!
DeleteOhhh mercy!!!!!!
DeleteHave you tried the local shamin? Or someone? For a protection spell? This sounds scary.
Yikes!!!!!!!
>,-((((((
Just every day stuff in Greece. You spit behind them (surreptitiously) as they leave the house to ward off those vibes. It's usually someone with blue eyes or a gossip. They don't mean to cause trouble.
DeleteI love trying new things. And it’s never a fail anyway. It means you learnt something which you can use at a later date
ReplyDeleteBesides sometimes you just can’t help the mati. No matter what you do
Pftt pftt pftt
You can't NOT believe in the mati around here. Too many 'coincidences'
DeleteWhat is the "mati"????
DeleteIt’s what the Greeks call the evil eye
Deletemash the fish into the pizza and tart. they will eat it for sure then
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I did. Bet it's all gone by morning
DeleteAll gone, every last crumb!
DeleteAh well, at least you tried. Do you have someone else pushing you out of the way saying, "No... let me make supper! Here, let me do all this work!" Ya, I don't either. You can complain about it because you made it, but everyone else better keep quiet. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteExactly! Eat it and shut up! There was greek salad on the table every time so he didn't starve but he he's not backward in expressing his displeasure .... or delight I might add
DeleteYou set me thinking about my own disasters. One that comes immediately to mind was an experimental Asparagus Omelet. I put a couple of eggs and some Asparagus into a blender, wizzed it up a bit, then fried it. It was horrendous!
ReplyDeleteSounds nasty too!
DeleteI've tried whizzing eggs in a blender to make a cake. That's not a good idea either.
Is it Greek thing when you put a torquise blue bead with a white and black circle in the centre, to resemble an eye, on the front door, or as a charm on you, to keep away the evil eye? I first learnt about this years ago from a friend who keeps the eye-looking bead inside her front door. Her parents are from Crete.
ReplyDeleteGreetings Maria x
Yes, Maria. Greek, middle east, Balkans. I'm surprised the Italians don't believe!
DeleteWe have blue eyes and garlic hanging all over the place, the gateway, the car, Ks little boat. Need extra protection here.
Babies often have blue glass eyes pinned to their pram or cot
Italians do believe in these things Linda but, more towards the south of Italy and the islands. Neapolitans are very much for this - they wear red devil horns "cornicello (they look like red chilli peppers) to ward off the "malocchio" bad eye, or I'd rather say, bad tongues!
DeleteOne thing I am very careful to do though, when I'm hosting a dinner is that to never have 13 people seated around a table. It doesn't bother me but, as a good host I always respect this "etiquette". However the absurdity is that number 13 is good luck for Italians but not at a dinner table - it has something to do with Christ's last supper, Judah's kiss. Pagasm mixed with religion.
x
I wonder what would the cats say if they have a blog of their own.I like this post:)
ReplyDeleteHa, Yael, I know exactly what they woulbe writing! They'd be complaining we don't have enough cooking disasters in our house!!!
DeleteOur next door neighbour (the one with the 'eye') feeds them daily. They only get these extras from us once or twice a week, usually when we have leftovers.