Being Green on Bank Holiday

There was genuine heat on Bank Holiday Sunday. It was the kind of the heat that seems to build up from out of the Earth as the day goes on before enveloping you in a sweaty cloud. The Dogg and I had seen something shiny, rare and green at a site close to our home that had been out of bounds for years, until recently, because of legal wrangles.

On our return I knew my parents were coming over for tea and also to drink some whisky with me to commemorate what would have been my late Granddad's 91st Birthday.

On the menu was something light and vegetarian in the form of a tart with thin shortcrust pastry and lots of Green Vegetables among its ingredients.

On the player was an energetic live album from 2002 by evergreen Folk-Rock act Fairport Convention called "From Cropredy to Portmerion". Standout tracks on this one include the mournful, emotive tale of a battle in the English Civil War that is "Red and Gold" a butt-kicking medley that features the classic "Matty Groves" as its centrepiece and a rousing encore of the timeless "Meet on the Ledge".

The ingredients you need to try this one at home are as follows:

For the Shortcrust Pastry

Twelve Ounces of Plain Flour.
Six Ounces of Unsalted Butter.
Two tablespoons of Almond Milk.

For the filling:

Eight Ounces of Low Fat Hummus.
A can of Chickpeas.
Ten thin sticks of Asparagus.
Four Ounces of Samphire.
Four Ounces of Rocket.
Three Ounces of Peas.
One Ounce of Chives.
One Ounce of Grated Parmesan.

The method was as follows:

1. The night before I made the pastry base by rubbing the Butter and Flour together until it resembled breadcrumbs. Then I used the Almond Milk to bind it together. Then I kneaded the Pastry, rolled it out and spread it evenly to a greased pie dish about twenty-five centimetres wide and five centimetres deep. I left the pastry  in the dish overnight in the fridge to help it solidify.

2. About an hour and a half before my parents arrived on the Sunday I cut up the Asparagus finely and added it, the Samphire, Rocket, Peas, Chives and Chickpeas to my Le Cresceut and fried them on a medium heat in Olive Oil on the hob for about thirty minutes.

3. While the Green Vegetables were frying up with the Chickpeas I spread the Humus evenly over the pastry that was spread over the pie dish.

4. After the Green Vegetables were ready I added them, with the Chickpeas, to the pie dish and spread them evenly. Next I grated the Parmesan over the top.

5. I cooked the tart on Gas Mark Five for twenty minutes.

I served the Tart with a side of Fresh Rocket and Pine Nuts. The Samphire, which is native to Israel and looks like the fronds of a Pine Tree, has a flavoursome and salty taste that enhanced this dish. The other Green Vegetables gave it a freshness that was offset by the surprisingly rich textures of the Hummus and the Parmesan. The thin pastry meanwhile meant that this wasn't a stodgy dish and suited the tropical conditions perfectly.

It was a good way to line the stomach prior to us cracking open the fifty per cent strength whisky that we used to drink to my Granddad's Memory.

Lots of innovative Green Ingredients can be found in this recipe.