Savoury Summer Tart by Barry Bryson of Cater

For me early summer is the best time to make a quiche, freshly sliced from the oven, served warm with a nice zingy shredded salad, some good bread and a nice glass of Gavi and you have the perfect garden lunch. 

Barry Bryson is one of Scotland’s leading caterers and private chefs and heads up a dynamic event catering firm called Cater by Barry Bryson.
For more information visit http://www.cateredinburgh.com or @CaterbyBarryB on Twitter or chef.caterer.edinburgh on Instagram.

Ingredients: Serves 8
For the pastry:
250g of plain white flour
125g of cubed unsalted butter
6 leaves of basil, finely chopped
Two pinches of rock salt
Cold water
1 large free-range egg and one egg to brush with 

For the filling:
Two large free-range eggs and 1 yolk 
600ml of double cream
150g of Smoked Scottish Cheddar 
6 banana shallots 
10ml olive oil
Seasoning to your taste

Toppings (if you wish):
Hot-smoked Scottish salmon or trout, garlic cress, dill or parsley 

Method:
1 Firstly, make your pastry by crumbing the butter and flour into a breadcrumb texture. Next, add the chopped herbs, salt and egg and mix in with a little cold water (approximately 50ml) and form a firm smooth dough by hand. 
2 Now wrap your pastry into cling film and chill for an hour.
3 Remove your pastry and on a cool lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin, and roll out into 14” circle. 
4 Get a 9” pastry tin and carefully line your pastry circle into it pressing down gently into the ridged corners of the tin, you want about an inch overhang of pastry all the way around.
5 Once this is done, place the pastry back into the fridge and chill it again for 15 minutes. 
6 Whilst this part is chilling down, peel and chop your shallots in half and place them gently pressed down into a medium hot fry pan with a little oil and cook them off for a few minutes, then turn them over once and cook again for a few minutes then remove from pan and cool.
7 Remove your lined pastry case from the fridge and using a fork, prick it evenly around the base and heat your oven to 180°C. 
8 Place your pastry into the oven for 12 minutes. 
9 Remove your pastry from the oven and brush with some egg to glaze it then return to the oven for another 8-10 minutes. At the end you will have a nice golden brown blind baked base to layer into.
10 For the filling, whisk the eggs, yolk and cream together until smooth and season to taste. In the base of the pastry lie your shallots down and grate the smoked cheddar over them and then pour over your cream mix and return to the oven for 20-25 minutes. 
11 Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes then using a knife trim away the excess over-hanging pastry so you get a neat finish. 
12. Add a topping if you want and enjoy! 

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