Served with a fresh green salad, this tart makes a lovely lunch or light supper.

Ingredients: (Serves 4-6)

• ½ recipe basic crust
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 garlic bulb, unpeeled
• 115 g/4 oz ricotta cheese
• 60 ml/4 tablespoons crime fraiche or sour cream
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 675 g/1½ lb mixed mushrooms, such as oyster, chanterelle, shiitake and portobello
• 115 g/4 oz grated Gruyere
• 28 g/1 oz pine nuts

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6. Roll out the pastry dough and transfer to a 23 cm/9-inch tart tin. Bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, prick the surface with a fork and brush the surface with lightly beaten egg. Then bake for 10 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Boil the garlic bulb in a saucepan filled with water for 15 minutes, then drain. When cool enough to handle, pop the garlic cloves out of their skins and mash in a bowl with the ricotta and creme fraiche until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan and saute the mushrooms for 10 to 15 minutes, until they are tender and any liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. To assemble, spread the ricotta and garlic mixture over the base of the cooled tart shell. Layer half of the mushroom mixture, then half of the grated Gruyere. Repeat the mushroom and Gruyere layers and sprinkle the pine nuts over the cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the filling is hot and the pine nuts are golden brown. Refrigerate any remaining pie for up to 3 days.