My lovely neighbour has an allotment, and we often do a nice little exchange – she brings me fresh veggies and I bake/cook with them, then give her some of the results. She’s also a fantastic baker, so we’ve got a little food swap going — it’s nice to keep it within the community. Here’s a recipe that always looks impressive and is fairly simple to make. It’s perfect for hosting. If you’re short on time, buy ready-made puff or shortcrust pastry.

Method

• If using bought pastry, skip to step 3. To make the pastry - place flour into a food processor with the icing sugar, butter and salt. Process in pulses until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, add egg yolk and process only until the dough comes together. Add some cold water if you need to.
• Form a disc, cover in cling film and place in fridge for at least an hour.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, form a large disk and line a loose bottom 24cm tart tin. Trim the excess crust. Poke holes in the bottom using a fork, and place in freezer for 30 minutes. to firm up.
• Using a peeler, peel long strips from your vegetables.
• In a bowl, beat the cream, eggs thyme, cheese and seasoning until fully combined.
• Remove the tart shell from the freezer and heat oven to 180°C.
• Pour about a third of your filling into the tin. Start lining the tin, working from the outside in- each vegetable at a time, slightly overlapping strip by strip, pushing them tightly together. You’ll see the filling rising between the slices. Keep going until you reach the middle - and for the last piece, roll one of the slices very tight into a spiral and push in the middle.
• Pour the remaining filling in (you might not have to use it all! Don’t overfill), and brush the tart lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt and pepper.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes until the base is a deep golden colour and the veg are cooked through and soft.
• Keeps well refrigerated for at least 3 days. Warm in the oven before serving – best eaten warm.

Shiri is co-found and chef at Epicurus restaurant in Camden

Recipe first published in the JC September 15 2021