Head Chef Nathan shares one of his favourite recipe from the revised edition of A Love for Food.
With over 150 recipes from the fields and kitchens of Daylesford Farm to choose from, including treasured family recipes from Carole Bamford, Nathan explains why the Butternut Squash and Kale Tart is a personal favourite.
It’s a chef’s dream to have access to the produce at Daylesford Farm. From the fresh milk from our organic dairy herd, to the vegetables, herbs and fruit from the market garden picked each morning and delivered straight to our kitchen. We are able to work with the very best ingredients grown and reared right on our doorstep.
I love this recipe for its simplicity and at the same time it celebrates everything the farm produces in the creamery and the market garden. Daylesford’s salted butter has to be one of the best ingredients from the farm that we use in The Wild Rabbit kitchen on a daily basis. The texture is so creamy, and the flavour is amazing, this provides a rich base to the tart. The butternut squash gives a delicious earthy autumnal flavour, perfect for this time of year. A tip – You’ll need to cook and drain the greens well and remove any moisture before adding to the filling otherwise it will be thin and might seem watery.
Serves 6
80g butter
100g kale leaves, shredded
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeds removed, and flesh grated
2 eggs
4 egg yokes
250g mascarpone
100ml double cream
70g Cheddar cheese, grated
1 blind-baked 20cm x 5-7cm shortcrust tart case
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 140°C/ gas 1.
Melt the butter in a medium pan, add the kale and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Increase the heat, add the grated butternut squash and continue to cook for 2–3 minutes, until the vegetables are just slightly softened. Taste and season accordingly, then take the pan from the heat and turn the mixture into a bowl or on to a plate to cool.
In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, yolks, mascarpone and cream for a few seconds, then add the Cheddar and Parmesan. Drain any excess moisture from the kale and squash mixture, season again to taste, and mix lightly. Spoon into the prepared pastry case and smooth level with the back of the spoon.
Put into the preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top of the tart is golden and the mixture is fully cooked – to check, insert a metal skewer into the centre, and if it doesn’t smear, the tart is done.
For more information behind the inspiration of A Love For Food click here.
