Oh so 1980's - an oldie, but goodie - great for a brunchy lunch on a day that's too chilly
for a salad, but not cold enough for soup...
It is happy to hang around a bit and be served slightly warmer than room temperature
(does not have to be piping hot to be gorgeous!).
Sweet Ginger on a base of red peppers with a touch of lemon and a tiny spike of chilli: enjoy it on a traditional cheese board (stunning with Camembert!) or a smoked meat platter.
Serve with ‘four cheeses’ muffins, tomato tarts, onion tarts and quiches of all kinds (especially quiche Lorraine!).
Sweet Ginger Relish is the all time, best, best friend of beetroot, sweet potatoes, carrots and red onions.
And then, it is simply irresistable on grilled Halloumi...
Red pepper (44%), white sugar, fresh ginger (7%), lemon juice, chilli paste (1%), salt.
Serves 4
Pre-made puff pastry (buy the best you can get your hands on - your reputation is at stake here!)
50ml Olive oil
1 large red onion - cut into petals
200g mini tomatoes
200g small courgettes - sliced
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
½ tsp ginger powder or fresh ginger
300g mozarella cheese*, shredded
Red Onion Relish
Savoury Salt and a light grinding of black pepper (optional).
*If we have a mixed age family lunch, we'll tend towards the mozarella only or a mix of mozarella and guyere, when its a slightly more discerning 'adults' crowd, its fun to slip in a few chunks of feta or gorgonzola.
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
Liberally grease a 28-30cm pie dish with butter.
Lightly roll out the pastry on a cool, floured surface (work quickly). Drape the pastry over the pie-dish and, using a little ball of pastry, work the pastry into the corners, trim the pastry so there's quite a lot of over-hang and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Warm half the oil in a pan and lightly fry the onions and courgettes for a few minutes - they just need a light browning - they still need to be quite firm. Add a pinch of Savoury salt. Add the garlic and shake around for a few moments (do not let the garlic burn!). Set aside to cool slightly.
In another pan, add the rest of the oil and lightly fry the mini tomatoes; add the dry ginger and black pepper and a pinch of Savoury salt. Set aside to cool slightly.
Remove the pie crust from the fridge and trim the edge of the party with a sharp knife to the edge of the pie dish. Prick the bottom of the pie shell in several places with a fork (you do not want big bubbles of pastry to make hills in your pie base!). Pop in a little sheet of baking paper and some baking marbles/beans or rice.
Turn the oven down to 180°C, and blind bake the pie-shell for 12-15 minutes - keep an eye on the edge - if it even starts to go golden, take it out.Turn the oven back up to 200°C.
Spread about 2 tsp of Ginger Relish on the base of the pie crust. Lightly mix the tomatoes and onion/courgette mix and pour into the pie shell. Top with the shredded cheese of your choice and bake until the top is golden.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool to eating temperature before serving with a green salad and possibly, a little roast chicken and extra Ginger & Chilli Relish on the side...
