As much as I have loved living in the United Kingdom for the past six years, I miss my native Hungary. This particular tart is a homage paid to my every-now-and-again homesick taste buds, combining basic flavours of the Hungarian cuisine: paprika, garlic, meat, onion, potato and smoked dry sausage. This is a sufficient, filling and humble dish with an elegant appearance, which has the potential to perfectly satisfy both the home-cook and the fine diner that could be served in the greatest of dining rooms.
Pastry:
400 g flour
100 g butter
60 g lard
Pinch of salt, garlic powder and paprika
2 eggs
3-4 tbsp cold water
Filling:
600g minced meat and 100-200 g smoked dry Hungarian (Mangalica) sausage
1 onion, 1 carrot
1 large potato, boiled
Salt, pepper, paprika
1 egg and 1 egg white
Preparation:
Mix the flour, paprika, garlic powder and salt. Add the butter in pieces until the flour begins to thicken. Add eggs and the water, mix until small clumps of dough begin to form. Form two balls with the dough, flatten into disks, and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
In the meantime prepare the filling. Sauté the cut up onion and carrots in small amount of oil, when soft add the spices, and the meat, sausage. Cook it on slow heat for about 15 minutes. Allow it to cool.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a thin sheet and cover the tart pan with it, press the dough gently with your fingers onto the pan, start at the center and move outward, remove any excess dough from the edges but leave an inch to wrap around the edges of the pan – this will help prevent the crust from shrinking. Prick the tart shell with a fork and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use. For recipes the tart shell needs to be partially baked, pre-heat the oven to 200 degree Celsius, line the shell with foil and fill with beans or baking beads and bake for about 15-20 minutes, just until the edges begin to get some color.
When the filling cooled, add the eggs, mashed boiled potato and fill the tarts. Bake for another 20 minutes on 180 degree Celsius.
I wish for the technology to develop to a point where there is an option to actually add the smell… Pure heaven!
