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Midsummers Day has been and gone, but with school holidays approaching summer is really only just beginning for many of us. Here is a recipe for Santiago Tart, a traditional almond cake or pie from Galicia, Spain which can be traced back to the Middle Ages. I hope it helps to get you into the holiday mood!

Tarta de Santiago

Prep time: Up to 3 hours

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves 8-10

Sweet Pastry Base

  • 12oz Plain Flour
  • 7oz Diced Unsalted Butter
  • 2oz Icing Sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons Cold Water

Pour the flour and butter into a large bowl. Using your finger tips rub the flour and butter together until it resembles breadcrumbs, stir in the icing sugar. Make a well in the centre of the ‘breadcrumb’ mix and then add the two yolks and 1 tablespoon of water (you might not need all the water, so it is better to add it a bit at a time). Using the back of a butter knife, slowly stir in the yolk and water mix into the flour. Once it has come together, get your hands in there and work it until it becomes a firm dough. Don’t worry if you don’t need to use all the water to get to this stage. Wrap in cling film and chill for 2 hours.

Once the 2 hours are up, remove the pastry from the fridge and place on a floured surface. Roll it out until it is about 5mm thick. Carefully lay it over your pastry tin and gently push it into all the edges. Trim off any excess pastry and leave to one side while you prepare the filling.

Santiago Tart Filling

  • 6 Whole Eggs
  • 200g Caster Sugar
  • 200g Ground Almonds
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Frangelico if you’re feeling naughty

Crack your eggs into a large bowl and roughly whisk , then add all the other ingredients and thoroughly whisk again until it becomes a smooth batter . Pour it into your pastry case (No need to blind bake the pastry) Only fill it about three quarters full because the baking powder will cause it to rise. Carefully pop it into your pre-heated oven, for around 45 minutes at 1500c or until the filling resembles a sponge and a skewer can go into and come out clean. Once it has cooled, you can garnish the top with plenty of icing sugar. It traditionally has the cross of Santiago de Compostela on, but if you don’t tell Natalia, you can keep it plain.

A nice alternative is to use coconut instead of almond and zest a lime into the mix.

Enjoy!

In season this month:

Fruits & Nuts
Apricot, Blueberries, Cherries, Gooseberries, Greengages, Rhubarb, Strawberries, Blackcurrants, Raspberries, Redcurrants, Whitecurrants

Vegetables & Herbs
Globe Artichokes, Aubergine, Beetroot, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Carrots, Courgette, Fennel, French Beans (whole pod), Garlic, Jersey Royal New Potatoes, Kohl Rabi, Lettuce & Salad Leaves, Mangetout, Onions, Pak Choi, Peas, Radishes, Rocket, Runner Beans, Samphire, Spinach, Spring Onions, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Watercress

Meat & Game
Lamb, Rabbit, Wood pigeon

Fish & Shellfish
Cod, Coley, Crab, Dover Sole, Haddock, Halibut, Herring, Langoustine, Mackerel, Plaice, Pollack, Prawns, Salmon, Sardines, Scallops, Sea Bream, Sea Trout, Shrimp, Squid, Whelks, Whitebait

Going out of season
Blackcurrants, Broad Beans, Loganberries

Suzanne is a professional chef, wife and mother who has lived in South East London all her life.

www.suzannejames.co.uk

You can email Suzanne with any comments or questions at info@suzannejames.co.uk

This article first appeared in the July 2016 issue of SE22 magazine