Beautifully presented, Mary Berry utilises a long, thin tranche tin to shape her tart, but a 23cm round flan tin will do.
As for the herb marjoram, the iconic chef said: “Marjoram is a herb I often grow in my garden.”
Mary Berry admitted that while the herb grows in her garden, she doesn’t use it very much for her meals, leaning towards basil, parsley, dill, chives or mint.
“However, marjoram works really well with the tomato and olive combination here,” said Mary Berry.
“If the fresh herb is hard to come by, you can use a mixture of fresh thyme and basil.”
Tomato, olive and marjoram tart recipe
- Serves: six people
- Cook time: 45 to 50 minutes
Equipment
- Long, thin tranche tin or flan tin
- Food processor
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 75g butter, chilled and cut into cubes
- One egg, beaten
For the filling:
- Two eggs
- 200ml full-fat crème fraîche
- 50g Cheddar cheese, grated
- 50g Parmesan cheese, grated
- One tbsp finely chopped marjoram
- Six large plum tomatoes, skinned and sliced into rounds
- 12 pitted black olives, halved
- Quarter tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to skin tomatoes?
Mary Berry advised to “cut a cross in the top of each tomato, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water”.
You should leave the tomatoes to stand for a couple of minutes, then drain and rinse in cold water. “The skins will now peel off easily,” Mary Berry assured.
Method
To make the pastry
Making pastry is ideal in the winter months in the UK as it needs to be as cool as possible.
1. Measure the flour and butter into a food processor and whizz until the mixture is like breadcrumbs. Add the egg and whizz again until a ball of dough is formed.
2. Sprinkle your work surface with flour and roll out the dough until it is the thickness of a £1 coin and large enough to fit the tin.
3. Line the base and sides with the pastry, leaving a generous edge to allow for shrinkage in the oven, prick the pastry all over with a fork and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
To make the filling
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 and place a large baking sheet inside to get very hot.
5. Break the eggs into a jug or bowl, add the crème fraîche, both cheeses and half the marjoram. Season with salt and pepper and mix until combined.
6. Line the pastry case with baking paper and baking beans, place it on the hot baking sheet and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for a further five minutes to dry out.
7. Remove the pastry case from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4.
8. Pour the filling into the pastry case and lay the tomato slices overlapping in five or six rows widthways across the top. Arrange the olive halves in between the rows of tomatoes and sprinkle with the remaining marjoram. Brush the tomatoes and olives with the balsamic vinegar.
9. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked and the top is browned. Trim the edges to remove any overhanging pastry, then carefully remove from the tin and serve warm with dressed salad leaves.
