I was delighted to discover some heirloom tomatoes at the Noosa Farmers Market when I recently visited. I purposely put them in the back of my car for the trip home to avoid eating them all. They were sweet and full of flavour. Once home, they were turned into a quick easy tart. Super easy and great for a late breakfast or light lunch. For a non gluten free version you could use 1-½ cups of plain wholemeal flour in place of the gluten free flours and omit the xantham gum.

Gluten Free Tart with Heirloom Tomatoes
Serves 4

For Pastry:
By La Tartine Gourmande

1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1.5 teaspoons xantham gum
0.5 teaspoon sea salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) cold butter, diced
1 egg
4 (or more as needed) tablespoons cold water


In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flours, xantham gum and salt
Add the butter and use the pulse option to work this mixture into crumbles
Add the egg and continue to pulse
Add the water, one tablespoon at a time and work until the dough detaches from the bowl
Transfer to a bowl and cover. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
Before rolling out allow the pastry to come back to room temperature

For Tart:

¾ cup ricotta cheese
salt and pepper to season
heirloom tomatoes (approximately dozen) sliced and let to rest of paper towel to absorb juices
greens to garnish
30 gms sheeps milk feta crumbled
egg beaten (for washing)

Preheat oven to 185 degrees celcius
Place the dough between two sheets of baking paper and roll out to a round shape approximately 30 cm in diameter
Gently lift the rustic pastry circle to the baking tray using the sheet of baking paper underneath
Season ricotta with salt and pepper to your liking
Spread fresh ricotta over the pastry base
Do not spread the ricotta right to the edge of the pastry instead leave approximately 5cm clear from the pastry edge
Place the slices of tomato over the ricotta overlapping them slightly as you go
Sprinkle crumbled sheep’s milk feta over the tart
Fold the edges of the pasty circle in to create a rustic looking free form pie
Season with freshly ground black pepper
Brush the folded over pasty edges with beaten egg
Place in oven and cook for approximately 30 minutes or until the base of tart is cooked through.
Serve with green salad

When I stumbled across this post recently on smitten kitchen I can honestly say I had a little flutter in my chest. Crazy I know but ricotta is a staple in our household. The boys love it and we cook with it regularly. It never goes to waste. Our local deli sells the most delicious, smooth and creamy ricotta and it sells out quickly. Luckily I am up with the delivery date and time so I generally don’t miss out – Phew!

To date I have had a couple of attempts at making ricotta and on both occasions have been left largely disappointed by the dry balls of cheese that looked at me. They tasted okay but they just lacked the creamy consistency i love.

Thankfully smitten kitchen was smart enough to come up with the thought to add some cream to the mix and voila! Creamy spreadable ricotta ready to go that is economical and tasty on freshly made besan (chickpea flour) crackers.


Fresh Homemade Ricotta:
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

About 1 cup of Ricotta

3 cups whole milk
1 cup crème fraiche or cream
½ tsp sea salt
3 Tbs lemon juice

Place the milk, crème fraiche and salt into a medium size saucepan
Attach a milk or candy thermometer to the saucepan
Heat the milk to approximately 85 – 90 degrees Celsius (just before boiling)
Stir regularly to prevent scorching the bottom of the pan.
Take the pan off the heat and add the lemon juice
Stir very gently a couple of times before letting stand undisturbed for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile line a colander with cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl so the whey can drain away from the cheese
By this time your saucepan should have curds and whey in it that you can gently pour into the colander
Leave to strain for 1 hour then place in a glass jar in the fridge ready for use

Don’t dispose of your whey. Add to breakfast smoothies or you can actually make ricotta from the whey (my next mission). Alternatively skip on over to here for more ideas to consider.


Besan Crackers
Makes approx 12 crackers

½ cup besan flour
½ cup almond flour
3 tbs LSA
1 tbs cold press olive oil
¼ cup water
pinch salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 185 degrees celcius
Mix flours and LSA together (use a whisk to get rid of any lumps)
Add the oil and then gradually add the water
Mix until a dough forms (knead it on a bench if that makes it easier)
Place the dough between two sheets of baking paper and roll until thin
Cut cracker in squares with a knife or use a cookie cutter if you wish
Place on a tray line with baking paper
Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 mins or until lightly browned

A really light lunch today consisting of asparagus, grilled pear, toasted hazelnuts and fresh turmeric. Quite appropriate after an indulgent evening out with the girls inclusive of dessert, wine and lots of laughter. I still feel good thinking about it now. To bulk this up a little I suggest the addition of some protein such as a poached egg, feta or even cottage cheese however in sticking with the lighter option I went for a dollop of creme fraiche, a splash of lemon juice and a grind or two of cracked black pepper plus a herbal tea for comfort.

So are you thinking what is with the turmeric? Well I picked some up at the farmers markets last weekend and have been grating it over many things throughout the duration of the week. It has an unusual peppery type of flavour and stains your fingers and anything else it comes into contact with, but i like it. It possibly is not for everyone but I mostly love it for its medicinal properties which you can read about here if your wish.



My Light Asparagus Salad
Serves 1

1 bunch of fresh asparagus (woody ends trimmed)
1/2 pear sliced thinly
Juice 1/2 lemon
5 hazelnuts toasted or plain roughly chopped
1 tsp grated turmeric

Dollop of natural yoghurt or creme fraiche
Ground black pepper

Bring a medium pot of water to the boil
Blanch the asparagus by putting it in the boiling water for 1 min then
remove from the boiling water and place in a bowl of iced water
Preheat a griddle pan to medium and grill the slices of pear until caramelised
Remove the asparagus from the iced water to drain
Chop the hazelnuts roughly
Grate the turmeric and assemble salad
Spoon leftover lemon juice over the salad and ground black pepper

I enjoyed every mere morsel on this plate. When i eat amazing fresh food like this i realise just why i love food so much!




Quinoa and Grape Salad with Roasted Garlic
Adapted from Sunday Suppers

Serves 4 – 6 as a side

1 head of garlic
3 cups seedless red grapes (some whole & some on vine)
½ cup fresh mint
100gms sheeps milk feta crumbled
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
2 cups rocket or other your choice of salad leaves
salt and pepper to season

1 cup of cooked quinoa (to prepare see below)

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees celcius.
Slice the top of the garlic and spray/brush with olive oil
Place on baking sheet and roast until soft (approximately 20 – 30mins)
When done reduce the heat of the oven to 140 degrees celcius and arrange grapes on a baking sheet in a single layer
Bake until about half their size (about an hour and half)
Cool and begin to prepare the quinoa.

Quinoa:

Rinse ½ cup uncooked quinoa under the tap for 30 seconds
Bring 3/4 cup water to the boil
Add the rinsed quinoa to the boiling water
Reduce to a simmer and place the lid on the saucepan
Cook down for 10 - 12 mins or until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy
Turn the heat off and remove from the stovetop
Leave the lid in place until ready to use.

To assemble the salad:

Combine the quinoa, olive oil, vinegar, feta, smashed garlic cloves, mint leaves, loose grapes and rocket
Toss to combine and season to taste
Top salad with whole grapes on vine and serve