This week I’ve got houses on the brain. I’ve had more calls (with estate agents) in the last week than any other calls on my phone this entire year. Guys I’m officially moving in with a BOY. I’ve had the best four years renting in South London with two of my friends but it’s time. Time to move in with Rob, which considering we’ve been together for 8 years feels about right, ha! We’re still renting (obviously) but moving to somewhere new and – hopefully, at this rate who knows – shiny, with our own shared stuff and where I don’t have to lug heavy bags back and forth on the train every other weekend.
We’ve narrowed down some spots, but any of you South Londoners with any recommendations, hit me up. Moving house is a mission so to distract myself from the stress, I want to talk to you about this free-form, gluten-free, FODMAP-friendly tart of dreams. Made with a crumbly buckwheat pastry and filled with gooey, crispy goats cheese, spinach and radishes, it’s light, seasonal and would make a stunning centre piece on any spring table.
Juicy, crunchy and crisp, the radishes add a punch of colour and flavour to the tart, while the goats cheese adds a creaminess and the mustard, if you use it, a gentle kick. The tart is made free-form so you can be as rough and ready with the pastry as you like, just make sure to fold over the edges tight, and to seal with an egg wash to prevent any leakages.
Rustic and informal, this FODMAP-friendly tart makes a great lunch or dinner, whether you’re cooking for friends or just treating yourself to cracking lunch for the week ahead. Once you’ve made the pastry there aren’t many steps to it and you can change up the fillings to what seasonal goodies you’ve got on hand. I like to serve this with a delicious olive-oil-drizzled side salad for a bit of contrasting crunch.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
200g plain gluten-free flour (such as FREEE by Doves Farm)
100g buckwheat flour
Big pinch of salt
1 1/2 level teaspoons xanthan gum
150g chilled butter
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
20ml lactose-free or plant based milk of choice
For the filling:
3 tablespoons wholegrain mustard (optional)
300g spinach, gently wilted
2 eggs, beaten
200g radishes, top and tailed and finely sliced
150g goats cheese, sliced
For a golden finish:
1 egg, beaten
Method
Start by making the pastry. Mix the egg and egg yolk with 20ml milk and put into the fridge to chill. Sift the flours and salt into a bowl with the xanthan gum. Add the butter to the flour mixture. Using 2 cutlery knives and working in a scissor action, cut the fat into the flour, keeping the knives in contact. Once the fat has been broken down to small pea-sized pieces, use your fingertips to gently rub the flour and little pieces of fat together until the mixture resembles pale breadcrumbs. Alternatively, you can use a food processor and pulse the ingredients to reach this stage (I find this so much easier as I have such hot hands.) If using a food processor, tip the ingredients out into a large bowl at this point.
Retrieve your whisked eggs and milk from the fridge and stir the liquid into the flour mixture, distributing as quickly as possible with a cutlery knife. If the pastry is still too dry and won’t come together, add a tiny bit more milk, little by little. Use the flat of the knife to bring the dough together, then pull the pastry together with your hands and shape it into a disc. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour, or ideally overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Lightly (gluten free) flour a piece of baking parchment and roll out the pastry into a circle 1/2 cm thick. Spread the mustard over the pastry, leaving a couple of inches gap around the edges. Squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the spinach and mix with the beaten egg. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the spinach over the mustard, then scatter the radishes and goats cheese over the top. Gently fold the edge of the pastry up over the filling, overlapping as you go.
Give the tart a light wash with the final beaten egg, this will help it brown in the oven. Transfer the greaseproof paper and tart to a baking tray. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown, the cheese gooey and the pastry base cooked through. Serve warm with a side salad.
Photographs of my working in the kitchen by Emma Croman! The rest were taken by me.
If you make this, let me know on social with the tag @shecanteatwhat or #shecanteatwhat
