Aishling Moore: How to make my potato, ricotta and anchovy tart

Tasty tartlet for many mouths

Potato anchovy and ricotta tart: Picture Chani Anderson

This weekend’s recipe is perfect when you have many mouths to feed. This sort of ingredient-packed tart is excellent for a summer picnic and fabulous for a light supper or lunch.

Many mouths to feed we did, at Dan Hannigan and Marcus O’Laoire’s Food for Thought event on Father’s Day last. A seven-course by seven chefs dinner took place at Allta, Niall Davidson’s pioneering restaurant on Grand Canal Dock, Dublin.

Food for Thought is a charity set up by my pal Dan Hannigan to create awareness around mental health and suicide prevention. On this occasion, the evening was held in aid of Our Lady’s Hospice.

Marcus lost his dad, Seán O’Laoire earlier this year to cancer and wanted to raise awareness and funds to be donated to the hospice. I was delighted to be part of the line-up with some of my favourite Irish chefs.

Marcus and Dan teamed up for the first course with dainty Carlingford oysters served with a cherry mignonette (made with cherries from Seán’s garden) and a knock-out sweetbread taco topped with gribiche. Danni Barry’s Abercorn Farm courgette tartlet was finished with a Templegall cheese custard and an elderflower hollandaise.

I plated up Rossmore oyster pâté with stout bread and fennel and pickled dulse salad, a Goldie classic.

Our host, Naill Davidson made a mind-blowingly delicious Skeaghanore duck neck sausage garnished with cherries and globe artichokes.

Eric Matthews followed with a gorgeous lobster and pig tail rice dish topped with a whopper garlic aioli and espelette pepper.

Richie Castello cooked the last savoury course: Beef cheek Satti, Zamboanga dust and Tiyula Itum rice. Superstar head pastry chef at Allta, Lali Gonzalez, ended a fantastic meal with a glorious Basque cheesecake millie-feuille with berries and basil.

The event raised €8,540 for Our Lady’s Hospice.

Potato, ricotta and anchovy tart with sunflower seed pesto

recipe by:Aishling Moore

This is one of many delicious recipes from Donna Hay’s Sunshine, Lemon and Sea Salt cookbook published by Fourth Estate.

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 1 hours 20 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 50 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the sunflower seed pesto

• 75g sunflower seeds

• 1 clove of garlic minced

• 1 lemon

• 60g basil

• 4 tbsp golden rapeseed oil

• Sea salt

• For the tart

• 1 x 320g sheet of all-butter puff pastry

• 1 egg yolk

• 250g ricotta

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1 clove of garlic minced

• 600g potatoes cooked and thinly sliced

• 2 sprigs of rosemary

• 1 tbsp golden rapeseed oil

• 16 tinned anchovies

• Sea salt and black pepper

• A handful of fresh basil leaves

Method

1. To make the pesto

2. Toast the sunflower seeds in a small pan on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes.

3. Cool before placing them and the garlic in a food processor and pulse to form a coarse paste.

4. Scrape down the sides and add the basil and lemon juice and blend again.

5. Trickle in the golden rapeseed oil whilst blending.

6. Season with sea salt and taste to correct seasoning.

7. Store in the fridge until serving.

8. To make the tart

9. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

10. Cut the cooked potatoes into ¼ inch slices.

11. Place the ricotta in a large bowl and add the minced garlic and lemon zest, mix well to combine.

12. Lightly dust a large baking sheet tray with flour.

13. Place the sheet of puff pastry on the baking sheet.

14. Using a small sharp knife, make a slight incision in the puff pastry 2cm from the edge of the pastry; continue this all around the sheet to create a border.

15. Spread the seasoned ricotta inside the border across the base of the tart.

16. Lay 12 anchovies evenly across the ricotta base.

17. Place the sliced potatoes on top of the ricotta.

18. Remove the rosemary from the sprigs and dress in the rapeseed oil.

19. Scatter the rosemary over the top of the potatoes and brush with the remaining oil, season with sea salt and black pepper.

20. Lightly brush the border of the pastry with egg yolk and bake in the preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

21. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before garnishing with a couple of blobs of pesto, anchovies and fresh basil leaves.

Fish tales

Swap the sunflower seeds for cashew, pistachios, walnuts or pine nuts.

You can swap the basil for parsley if you wish or use a mix of both.

I’ve used a food processor for this pesto, but you could use a hand-held blender or a pestle and mortar.

Be sure to taste the pesto at the end of the process; more lemon juice might be required.

The whole tart can be assembled the night before and baked just before serving.

Keep any leftovers, as this tart reheats very well.

Reserve the olive oil remaining from the anchovies, transfer to a small glass jar and keep refrigerated. Use to dress grilled or roasted vegetables or fish, in pasta sauces or salad dressings.