Lamb and artichoke tart

Almost two weeks ago I had a go at this tart. The main novelty was the pastry - a mixture of flour, white wine and olive oil. I had never used white wine in pastry before. I know cannoli pastry has some red wine in (marsala) but the pastry is then deep fried not baked. I used the same quantities of ingredients for the pastry as indicated in the recipe and it turned out really well - the ratios of wet to dry ingredients turned out to be spot on!

For the filling, I used some leftover lamb, so I did not have to pre-cook the lamb. I also used canned artichokes as the fresh ones are unfortunately no longer in season. I also added some ricotta that needed to be used up in the egg and yoghurt mixture.

The pie tasted great. The pastry lifted the tart to a new dimension - it was light and crispy. I will definately be doing this tart again!

Last week I used the same pastry recipe for a pork pie. I substituted water for the wine. I heated the water and the oil in a pan, just like for a hot water crust pastry. When it was starting to simmer, I added the flour and mixed into a dough. I let it rest a bit whilst I prepared the filling - pork cut into small cubes, parsley, onion salt, black pepper and mixed spice.

We ate the first two portions hot from the oven and we were not impressed - the parsley was overpowering, and the texture of the meat was odd (too gelatinous). However we had the leftovers cold (as pork pie should be had afterall!) and it was really good! The pastry is great both hot and cold - in other word, this pastry recipe is a keeper!