It’s been a hectic weekend and I won’t mind if I don’t see another pie or tart for a while. It was the charity food fundraiser at work today and we sold 97 tarts and pies and only 5 Shepherd’s Pies were left unsold (which would make a nice dinner for the family tonight). Kid #2 was dragged down to work to be my sous chef/helper, which she gamely did.
Hilariously, my little pie and tart stall was supposed to be more healthy (low carb, gluten-free, super fresh ingredients with almost nothing processed and artificial), yet the fastest selling tart was the bacon and sundried tomato tart! I ask you…obviously most people are ignoring the dictum to avoid processed food like bacon!
I must admit that making 50 tart shells at a go was daunting; luckily this almond crust can be made in a food processor and the dough can never be overworked unlike gluten-based pastry dough. Being a bit OCD (ok, a lot), although this dough was theoretically a press-in dough, of course I had to roll out the dough and cut out perfect circles to fit into the tart pans 😁. And allowing my OCD traits to reign fully, I got the biggest kick making sure that the different tarts were packed neatly in pristine white cake boxes tied with hemp twine.
Anyway obviously I’m not the only OCD one because the senior paediatrician who was selling his acclaimed cakes and sweet tarts opposite me had equally neat boxes and containers. I suppose our field of work requires obsessive attention to detail – we are one of the few disciplines that orders medication by weight and such compulsive meticulousness is a survival skill.
Since I sold all the tarts I confess I do not know which of the 5 flavors was the nicest (bacon and sundried tomato; onion and Gruyere cheese; broccoli and mushroom; smoked salmon and dill and salmon and spinach tarts). Kid #2 went straight for the bacon and tomato one, which is not surprising as she has an unerring instinct for the least healthy food around. But she swore it was good, which was gratifying.
Still, of all the tarts I would have bought for myself if I weren’t so jaded by all the tart-making would be one of the salmon and dill tarts. This is a simple tart which allows the flavors of the smoked salmon and the dill shine through. Here is the recipe which had hardly any cheese (unlike my previously posted tart recipes).
Low Carb Smoked Salmon and Dill Tart
Ingredients
Tart shell
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 tbsp oil or shortening
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
Tart filling
- 400g smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup sour cream
- 120 ml whipping cream
- 4 large eggs
- 40 g Grana Padano cheese, finely grated
- 5 tbsp dill, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Sal
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Method
- Mix the almond flour, egg, salt and oil/shortening in a bowl. Pulse the mixture in a food processor till the dough comes together
- Roll the dough out between 2 layers of baking paper or plastic sheets. With a cookie cutter, cut out a circle about 1 inch larger than base of the tartlet pan.
- Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
- Mix the smoked salmon and dill. Set aside.
- In another bowl, beat the 4 eggs and mix well with the sour cream and whipping cream, Grana Padano cheese, salt and pepper.
- Bake the tart shells open for 8 minutes, then remove from oven to cool slightly.
- Put about 2 tsp of smoked salmon on the tart base. Fill up the tart shell with the cream and cheese mixture, being careful not to let the tart shells overflow.
- Bake for 40 minutes till surface of tart is lightly browned.
- Serve hot with a fresh side salad.
Still Feeling Peckish 