Description
A delicious and vibrant Artichoke & Broad Bean Tart paired with a fresh watercress pesto. Featuring a crisp shortcrust pastry filled with creamy ricotta, crème fraîche, broad beans, and tangy artichoke hearts, topped with a homemade watercress and pine nut pesto. Perfect for a light lunch or elegant brunch.
Ingredients
Scale
Pastry
- 500g pack shortcrust pastry
Filling
- 500g broad beans
- 2 x 250g tubs ricotta
- 250ml tub crème fraîche
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 100g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative) or other hard cheese, grated
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 390g can or jar artichoke hearts, drained and halved
Watercress Pesto
- 2 x 100g bags watercress
- 50g pine nuts
- 50g parmesan (or vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese), grated
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pastry: Heat your oven to 190C/170C fan/gas mark 5. Roll out the shortcrust pastry and line a 28cm tart tin. Chill the pastry in the fridge for 30 minutes to ensure it stays firm during baking.
- Make Watercress Pesto: While the pastry chills, prepare the pesto by placing watercress, pine nuts, grated Parmesan, olive oil, and lemon juice into a food processor. Blitz until you get a thick, smooth sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then set aside.
- Cook and Peel Broad Beans: Boil a pan of water and cook the broad beans for 1 minute. Drain and immediately refresh under cold water to cool. Peel off the outer skins of the beans carefully and set the tender inner beans aside.
- Blind Bake the Pastry: Line the tart case with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans or weights to prevent shrinking. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and bake for 15 more minutes until the base is lightly golden. Remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.
- Prepare the Filling: In a mixing bowl, blend the ricotta and crème fraîche with the beaten eggs. Stir in the grated cheese and lemon zest. Gently fold in the peeled broad beans, taking care not to crush them to keep their texture.
- Assemble and Bake Tart: Spread the filling evenly over the pre-baked tart base. Arrange the drained and halved artichoke hearts evenly over the top. Return the tart to the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the filling is set and slightly golden on top.
- Serve: Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm accompanied by the fresh watercress pesto spooned over or on the side.
Notes
- If you don’t have a large 28cm tart tin, you can make the tart using two 20cm tins, baking for 30-35 minutes. You may have some filling leftover.
- For a vegetarian version, use vegetarian Parmesan or a hard cheese alternative that does not contain animal rennet.
- Peeling the broad beans is key to a tender and enjoyable texture; don’t skip this step.
- The watercress pesto can be made ahead and stored refrigerated for up to 2 days.
- Ensure not to over-bake the filling to keep it creamy and smooth rather than rubbery.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Tart
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: artichoke tart, broad bean tart, watercress pesto, vegetarian tart, spring tart, ricotta tart
