Last week our friends Grant and Sarah came over for dinner, so I decided to make a huge mess in the kitchen a bit of an effort.

After drinks, we began with this luscious Pea and Goat’s Cheese tart which I served with some ultra-trendy pea shoots tossed in an apple vinaigrette. We then moved on to Apricot and Pistachio Stuffed Pork with Herby Polenta and Courgette Linguine–sadly this fell into the tasty but ugly category–and finally ended on a triumphant note with my new favourite dessert, Spiced Strawberry soup, Honey Frozen Yoghurt and Strawberry Granita.

I was aiming for a light, summery menu using mostly seasonal ingredients and I think I did pretty well. I could have used fresh apricots to stuff the pork but I was worried that they’d disintegrate and slither out during cooking, so I stuck with good old dried apricots. In retrospect, I could have used my Boozy Apricots. Oh well.

This tart makes an ideal starter for a dinner party. It can be made in advance and is served cold. What could be easier than cutting a few slices, daintily arranging them on plates and adding a bit of salad? Hmm, this makes it sound as though I was really lazy. Trust me, I worked hard! I even braved the supermarket on a Saturday morning for ingredients, and I’m pretty sure even the Knights of the Round Table would have baulked at that particular quest.

Anyhoo, the tart went down very well indeed. Grant isn’t a big fan of goat’s cheese but really enjoyed the tart as the evil was hidden. If I were you, I’d interpret that compliment as the tart being a good way to introduce goat’s cheese to someone who is a bit dubious about it! The rest of us–die-hard goat’s cheese lovers–adored the tart. The pea and cheese were balanced beautifully and despite using frozen peas–I rarely manage to find truly fresh peas–it tasted of summer.

This recipe is definitely a keeper, and I was so taken with the tart that I’ll actually be repeating it on Monday for lunch with friends, including a bunch of toddlers. (I reckon this is pretty toddler friendly. I base this on the fact that Mr Fussy aka Lucas devoured his slice in seconds. Considering how fussy he’s been lately, this is miraculous and the tart should immediately be given a Sainthood.)

Pea and Goat’s Cheese Tart

Source: The Endive Chronicles

Makes one 9″ tart.

shortcrust pastry or pate brisee to fit a 9″ tart tin
olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped finely
275g frozen peas, defrosted (or use fresh if they’re really fresh)
225g soft goat’s cheese
80ml full-fat milk
3 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon lemon juice
sea salt and black pepper

Blind bake pastry case at 200C for 15 minutes. Remove baking beans/coins/whatever, return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes until almost cooked through. Turn the oven down to 180C.

Meanwhile, saute the onions in a little olive oil until soft and translucent. Do not brown. Transfer to the food processor and add the peas and seasoning.

Blitz until as smooth as possible. You’ll still have flecks of pea skin, but I didn’t bother straining them out. If you want it completely smooth then use a blender and thus neatly avoid having to wash a sieve.

Add the rest of the ingredients, blitz again.

Put your pastry case on a baking sheet, if not already on one, pour in the filling mixture and bake at 180C for 20-30 minutes until the centre of the tart barely jiggles when the tin is gently shaken. (Think cheesecake.)

Cool on a wire rack and serve at room temperature or chilled.

Apple Vinaigrette

300ml cloudy apple juice
1 teaspoon clear honey
1 tablespoon Champagne (or white wine) vinegar
120ml extra-virgin oil

Bring 250ml of the apple juice to the boil in a small, heavy-based saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium and bubble until the juice is reduced to 50ml.

Place the syrupy juice in a small bowl and whisk in the honey and vinegar. Gradually whisk in the oil–the vinaigrette will be almost mayonnaise-thick at this point–then stir in the reserved apple juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Store any left-overs in a jar in the fridge.