Elbow Pasta Tart | The Best Ever

After I made my first quiche the love for warm pies & tarts was unleashed. Especially since V as well as a neighbor couple who we are friends with loved the first attempt. I was egged [not encouraged ;)] on. My second attempt was this tart. Well let me tell you this recipe was born out of need to utilize the leftover pasta which was little and not enough to be enjoyed by 2 of us as a dish. So I decided to bake this as a tart.

Macaroni Pasta Tart

I tried working on things which had not gone well in my first quiche. One of them was getting the edges nice & curvy for my tart but as you can see I did a terrible job. 🙂 I also decided to try a new dough recipe & found one at Joy of Baking. As always her recipes are bang on. The dough easily came together. I skipped salt as I used salted butter. I also halved the recipe to suit my pan size. This time I blind-baked the pastry & made the pasta at night and quickly baked the tart for lunch.

Macaroni Pasta Tart

It was high butter to flour ratio so the crust was buttery, flaky & tasted absolute yum. The pasta was the best I’ve ever made. Younger V ate just the pasta as he is very fond of it. Older V ate more than half the tart all by himself. The neighbors drooled over the photos so much that I baked a pastry & gave them to make their own filling & enjoy the tart. The pasta tart was a big big hit & I recommend everyone to make it once!

Macaroni Pasta Tart

Shortcrust Pastry –

Recipe Source – Joy of Baking

Ingredients –

• 1 1/4 Cup – APF
• 100 gms – Butter, cold & cut into 1/2″ cubes (I used salted)
• 1/2 Tbsp – Granulated Sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp – Iced Water

Method –

1. Lightly grease the 6″ tart pan.
2. Combine flour, sugar & butter & bring together using your fingertips till it roughly resembles bread crumbs. I used potato masher. You can use a food processor. Do not handle the mixture too much.
3. Add about 2 Tbsps of water & bring together the mixture to form a dough. If necessary, add more water. Again do not handle the dough too much.
4. On your work surface, make the dough into a ball. Flatten it a little to form a 5″ disc using your palm. Cover in cling film & refrigerate for 30-60 mins.
5. Remove dough from refrigerator, lightly flour your work surface & rolling pin. Roll out a pastry about 3 ” bigger than your pan size. Keep rotating the pastry as you roll for evenness & to avoid sticking to the surface.
6. Once the desired size is achieved, then gently roll the pastry onto your rolling pin & place it onto the pan with an overhang. Gently press the pastry in the pan. Do not stretch the pastry as it will shrink while baking. Flute the edges of the pastry.
7. Chill the pastry covered in cling film and pre-heat the oven to 210 C.
8. Remove from refrigerator, use a fork & make some holes in the pastry to avoid ballooning of pastry. Now lightly grease one side of aluminum sheet & place the grease side down on the pastry. Fill the pan with rice or beans or pie-weights.
9. Bake in pre-heated oven for 15 mins. Remove the pastry from oven, remove the aluminum foil & rice.
10. Return it to the oven & bake at reduced temp. of 190 C for 10 mins. Allow it to cool.

Elbow Pasta Filling –

Ingredients –

• 1 1/2 Cup – Pasta, cooked Al dente
• 1 1/2 Cup – Spinach, washed, drained & chopped
• 4-5 – Tomatoes, medium sized, chopped
• 2 – Onions, medium sized, chopped
• 2 Tbsps – Olive Oil
• to taste – Salt, Red Chilli Flakes

Method –

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add onions & fry them for a few minutes.
2. Add tomatoes & spices. Allow the sauce to cook well for 10-15 minutes, till it breaks down.
3. In the meantime, blanch spinach by passing through boiling salted water. Drain well. If it is still wet, use paper towel to absorb any extra moisture.
4. Once the sauce is cooked, mix spinach & pasta. Adjust seasoning.

Assembling the Tart –

• Short Crust Pastry
• Pasta Filling
• 1 Cup – Grated Cheese

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.
2. Spread half the cheese onto the base of the pastry.
3. Pour the filling into the prepared shortcrust pastry. Lightly press it down & top it with remaining cheese.
4. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven & allow it to cool on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes.
5. De-mould & serve warm.

Linking this to –

1. Christmas Event by Cook like a Bong
2. Merry Christmas Celebrations by Cook, Cook & Cook
3. Spot light: Healthy Baking by Recipe Junction
4. Bake Fest #14 by Cooks Joy

Eggless Caramelized Onion, Broccoli, Corn Quiche | Cheesy Bite

My very first Quiche & baked on demand. V specifically wanted an ONION Quiche. I managed to sneak in some broccoli & corn as I am not a great fan of onion!

Eggless Caramelized Onion, Broccoli, Corn & Cheese Quiche

Google is real savior at times like this. Quiche has not been a part of our growing up meals & we do not come across it that often even now. And to top it I have to make an eggless one, life in kitchen is never simple. 🙂 So google led me to KORasoi by Sanjana, this was my first visit there & I was quite impressed & intrigued. She has a wonderful caramelized onion quiche with lots & lots of cheese. So I decided to make it with a few changes – I replaced sweet potato with broccoli & corn & instead of using so many variety of cheeses, I used cheddar cheese, white sauce & Amul Cream. The crust had a great kick owing to addition of roasted cumin seeds, I gave it a twist by adding dried & crushed mint leaves & some freshly ground black pepper.

Eggless Caramelized Onion, Broccoli, Corn & Cheese Quiche

The recipe was enough to bake two 6″ quiches for me. I baked one and stored the remaining dough wrapped in cling film for another day. We had a little marital discord over eating the first quiche so I baked the second one when V was away in office & refrigerated it to set before he came back. He didn’t even know it existed & we got to patiently allow it set & eat next day. It also gave me the chance to lick off the cheesy spoon all by myself. 😉 Scheming wife, baker, photographer! 🙂 Hey that reminds me, have you sent in your entry for the amazing food photography contest & a giveaway!

Eggless Caramelized Onion, Broccoli, Corn & Cheese Quiche

As Sanjana said, the quiche making sounds complicated but when you take the first bite, it is worth all the effort. The edges of my crust did not form as well as I would have liked. The quiche also didn’t brown like Sanjana, which I think is due to difference in ovens. I will surely keep an eye on both the things next time I bake a quiche. The quiche was truly creamy with a very lovely and sweet taste of caramelized onions. I would love to bake another quiche soon. 🙂 V & I made a pact that he can ask for any recipe but only on weekdays so that I can work in peace and prepare it well.

Eggless Caramelized Onion, Broccoli, Corn & Cheese Quiche

Eggless Caramelized Onion, Broccoli, Corn & Cream Cheese Quiche –

Recipe Source – loosely adapted from KO Rasoi

for Shortcrust Pastry

Ingredients –

• 280 gms – APF
• 140 gms – Frozen Butter, grated (I used Amul)
• 1 1/2 tsp – Roasted & Coarsely Ground Cumin Seeds
• 1 tsp – Dried & Crushed Mint Leaves
• 1/4 tsp – Ground Black Pepper, fresh
• to taste – Salt
• 8 – 9 Tbsps – Iced Water

Method –

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, spices and salt. Rub together using your fingertips until it resembles a fine breadcrumb mixture. Avoid melting the butter while doing so.
2. Add the iced water little by little & bring the mixture together to make a smooth dough. Avoid handling the dough too much.
3. Cover in a cling film and refrigerate for 10 mins. I divided the dough into 2 parts & kept 1 part (wrapped in cling film) away in an air-tight container for future use.
4. Grease a fluted tart pan. I used 6″ pan with removable bottom.
5. Remove the dough. On a lightly floured surface gently roll out the pastry to 5mm thickness & around 2″ larger than your tart pan. If the pastry is breaking, remove the dough from sides & patch up using iced water.
6. Lift the pastry gently using your rolling-pin and drape it over the tart case, such that there is an overhang of the pastry all-round. Prick some holes using a fork in the pastry.
7. Chill in the fridge for 20 mins. Pre-heat your oven at 200 C.
8. Remove from the refrigerator. Place a waxed sheet/ greaseproof paper on top the pastry & fill it with uncooked rice/ pie weights/ baking beans.
9. Blind Bake the pastry for 20 mins. Remove the greaseproof paper & rice. Return the pastry to the oven for another 5 mins for a nice golden crust. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

for the Filling

Ingredients –

• 240 gms – Onions
• 1 Cup – Broccoli, small florets
• 1/2 Cup – Corn
• 1 Cup – Grated Cheddar Cheese, (I used Go Cheese)
• 1 Cup – White Sauce (recipe follows)
• 150 ml – Amul Cream
• 3 Tbsps – Sugar
• to taste – Salt
• to taste – Crushed Black Pepper
• 1 tsp – Dried Oregano
• 1 tsp – Crushed White Pepper
• 1 Tbsp – Butter
• 1 tsp – Olive Oil

Method –

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180 C.
2. In a thick bottom pan add butter, onion, olive oil & sugar. Allow it to cook covered on slow flame for 20 mins for caramelization. Stir in between, though take care and not break them up too much. Add oregano set aside.
3. Steam broccoli & corn in microwave using a microwave steamer or electric steamer or pass them through salted boiling water for a couple of mins.
4. In a large pan, add white sauce and 100 ml cream. Bring to a boil, add 1/2 cup cheese, salt & pepper. Allow it to cool.
5. Gently fold in broccoli, corn & remaining cream.
6. Fill the mixture in the cooled pastry crust. Spread remaining 1/4 cup cheese on top. Fill a small baking try with hot water & place it in the bottom of the oven. I used a small tart mold & placed it next to the quiche only as I bake in microwave/ convection oven. (this will keep the environment moist so the quiche won’t dry out)
7. Place your quiche on the middle rack and bake for 35 mins until almost golden. Turn the oven off and open the door for few minutes to let the steam escape.
8. Now close the door & leave the quiche inside for 2 hours. Once the quiche is cool, remove from oven and wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for 7-8 hours. You can eat warm as well, if that’s what you like but this quiche really tastes out of world when cold.
9. Remove. Trim the excess pastry and devour.

White Sauce – makes about 1 cup white sauce

Ingredients –

• 1 Tbsp – APF
• 1 Tbsp – Butter (I used Amul)
• 3/4 Cup – Milk (approx)
• to taste – Black Pepper
• to taste – Salt

Method –

1. In a heavy bottom pan, add little butter & flour. Continuously stir them for few minutes on low flame, till the flour is slightly cooked.
2. Remove from flame & add milk slowly stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Use whisk if required. Once the mixture is smooth, move it back to the flame.
3. Allow it to come to boil stirring continuously. Add salt & pepper to taste. You can adjust the consistency as per taste or dish.

Linking this to –

1. What’s with my Cuppa hosted & started by Nupur of UK, Rasoi
2. Bake Fest #13 hosted by Anu for the month of Nov ’12
3. I Love Baking # 9

Eggless Kaaju Mawa Cake (Cashew Cake) in Blind Bake Mode – Chocolate Rasoi – Part 3

This is the 3rd recipe from Chocolate Rasoi Workshop that I attended in May. Earlier recipes were Eggless Chocolate Brownie & Eggless Blackforest Cake.  Most of the recipes are using condensed milk in place of egg. Till date condensed milk is considered the best substitute for egg. This is also made using condensed milk. Apart from richness of condensed milk, this cake also contains the richness of Cashew & Maawa. Maawa is also known as khoya in many parts & most widely consumed in northern India in form of many sweets. Any sweet made with khoya & cashew is bound to be a favorite with all elders. And this is exactly why Anjli of Chocolate Rasoi nick-named this cake as Mother-in-law cake. Very apt name!!! 🙂

Kaaju Maawa Cake – A Slice

I baked this cake in 2 small tins as I wanted to try my hands at baking in Gas Tandoor. You see I didn’t want to burn the whole cake – so divided the batter. 🙂 Baking in tandoor or pressure cooker is known as Blind Baking – as there is no temperature or time setting. For baking in tandoor, pre-heat the tandoor (covered) for 15 mins on slow flame before placing the cake. And even the cake is baked on slow flame till it is baked well from inside. To test, touch the cake & see and if you are sure it is done, then insert the toothpick and check as final step. (Please see my earlier post to know why not to insert toothpick many times in cake while baking). My experience says that time taken is almost same as an oven.

Kaaju Maawa Cake in Tandoor

Kaaju Maawa Cake – in Oven

Kaaju Mawa Cake –

Recipe Source – Chocolate Rasoi Workshop

Ingredients –

• 100 gm – All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp – Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp – Baking Soda
• 200 gm (1/2 tin) – Condensed Milk
• 100 gm – Khoya/ Mawa*
• 2 Tbsp – Milk Powder
• 2 Tbsp – Cashew Powder/Meal
• 1 tsp – Vanilla Essence
• 3 Tbsp – Unsalted Butter
• 15-20 – Chopped Cashew (for top)
• 100 ml – Milk

Method –

1. Line & grease 7″ tin or 6 muffin cups. Pre-heat the oven 180 C**.
2. Sieve flour, baking powder & soda together 2-3 times.
3. Mix all ingredients together except milk & cashew pieces. Add half milk and beat 3-4 minutes.
4. If required slowly add the balance milk.
5. Pour the mixture in prepared tin & decorate pieces of cashew on top.

1. 

   Kaaju Maawa Cake – Batter

2. Bake for 20 mins. Remove from pan & allow to cool completely.

Kaaju Maawa Cake – Oven & Tandoor

Kaaju Maawa Cake – Baked in Tandoor

The cake was really yum! I haven’t felt that good after eating a cake. This recipe is definitely a must when elders are visiting & I am looking forward to serve it to my MIL whenever I get the chance. (read – earn some brownie points 😉 )

Kaaju Maawa Cake – Baked in Oven

* In absence of mawa – use 2 Tbsp heaped cashew powder + 2 Tbsp heaped milk powder in addition to the quantity suggested above of cashew & milk powder. Or you can use Mawa Burfi in place of mawa.

** I baked at 180 C in oven but felt that my cake browned a lot on top. I suggest reducing the temp to 160 C as mawa cooks faster. Baking time depends on quality of mawa & hence you should check after 20 mins for bigger pan size.

Being from North India, success in baking in Tandoor has taken a worry off me – “How to bake when there is no electricity?” 🙂