Salmon & Spring Greens Tart with a Walnut & Almond Pastry Crust

This tart showcases some of our best Spring ingredients and looks and tastes good enough to be on the finest restaurant menu.

Serve with dill pesto (recipe below) and simple steamed vegetables or salad leaves.

• 100g walnuts
• 100g ground almonds
• 150g buckwheat flour
• 100g unsalted butter or vegan spread
• 1tbsp Total Sweet Xylitol
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg beaten or 2tbsp ground flax seeds

For the filling:

• 5 medium-sized free-range eggs beaten
• 1tbsp milk
• 100g Smoked Salmon
• 1 small courgette cut into ribbons using a peeler
• 4 Asparagus Tips, washed and halved lengthways
• 50g Watercress, remove any thick, tough stems
• 100g feta cheese, crumbled
• Salt & Pepper seasoning

For the pesto:

• 30g Dill
• 20g Fresh Basil
• 4tbsp Olive Oil
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2tbsp fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

Method:

For the base:

1. Place the walnuts into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
2. Add the ground almonds, buckwheat flour, butter (or vegan spread), xylitol and salt. Pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Next, add the beaten egg (or ground flax seeds) and a splash of ice-cold water and pulse a couple of times, just until the mixture comes together. 
4. The mixture will still be a little crumbly at this point but turn out the mixture onto a floured surface and knead gently until it comes together a bit more. Then wrap in clingfilm and leave to chill and rest in the fridge for about 30-60mins.
5. Place the chilled pastry onto a clean board, dusted with flour and use a rolling pin to gently roll out the pastry to a length on width to fit your baking tin, with enough to leave some to go up the sides of the tin.
6. Gently transfer the pastry into the baking tin and use your clean fingers to press into the shape of the tin. Using a fork, prick all over.
7. Place the tin into the fridge for 30mins to set.  This will prevent the pastry from shrinking during cooking.
8. After chilling, place a sheet of baking paper over the pastry and then add some baking beans or some uncooked, dry rice to weigh the baking paper down.  Bake the pastry in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 10 minutes. 
9. Remove from the oven ready for adding the filling ingredients.

For the filling:

1. Mix the milk into the beaten eggs then pour the mixture into the prepared tart base.
2. Next, take small amounts of the smoked salmon and pinch them together, placing the salmon at even intervals within the egg mixture.
3. Then, do the same with the courgette ribbons, asparagus tips and finally the watercress.
4. Crumble the cheese over the dish and season well.
5. Bake the tart in a preheated oven for 20-25mins. Place a piece of foil over the tart if it begins to brown on top towards the end of the cooking time.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly (or fully depending on choice).
7. Serve with a drizzle of dill pesto and fresh greens.

For the pesto:

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor, blitz and serve.