Pantry Pickings – Seville Orange Marmalade and Almond Tart

I have a confession to make: I’m guilty of buying food I don’t need. Not every day food, I’m talking gourmet, baby – you know, the stuff no-one really needs?

When I visit a gourmet store, I’m like a kid in a candy shop. I want to buy everything. It’s just too tempting, especially when there are samples out for tasting. I love trying before I buy – and buy, I do. The free tasters are a smart move. “Oooh, This vinegar is nice, I’ll take two. Oh, if I buy three I get a free jar of dukkah? Stack em up!”

So, you see how my pantry ends up full to the brim of gourmand ingredients that rarely get used. Come to think of it, it’s not dissimilar to my shoe cupboard. But that’s another story.

Last weekend I decided to clear out the pantry. I could hear my mother’s voice, “think of those starving kids in Ethiopia.” I guiltily threw out anything with expired dates (like that jar of preserved lemons dated 2014, and a jar of saffron I bought in Dubai 10 years ago), and made a pact with myself to use everything else.

I started with a jar of Seville orange marmalade, bought from The Providore, in Margaret River, where the centrepiece is a long table filled with jars of jams, vinegars and flavoured oil for tasting. There’s wine too, so you can see the attraction. To be honest, after a couple of wines, three or four vinegars and some chilli oil, my tastebuds were pretty shot. I think that’s how I ended up with this marmalade (it’s a little tart). Or maybe it was the notion of the oranges being from Seville and my brain was transporting me to Spain in some lush orange field while I basked in the sun drinking Sangria.

I had dreams of slathering it on thick slices of ciabatta, encasing it in short crumbly pastry,  spreading it onto a sponge topped with  cream and candied orange, I even thought it would make a delicious glaze for roast chicken.

But we all know what happened don’t we? It flew back with me in a suitcase and has lived in the pantry ever since.

So, for this week’s ‘pantry pickings’ I have finally opened the jar and made a tart, filled with marmalade and topped with sweet buttery almond paste. The result? De-licious!

The sweet almond topping balances the tartness of the marmalade perfectly. I’ve used my regular sweet shortcrust pastry here, which is a cinch to make (I promise) – but of course you could use a pre-bought tart shell. This recipe works just as well using a round 23cm tart tin if you don’t have a rectangular one. Also, if you can’t get Seville orange marmalade, use whatever marmalade you can find.

I’ll definitely be making this again – I’m so glad I decided to use up that marmalade. I don’t think the next jar I buy will sit around as long.

Seville Orange Marmalade and Almond Tart

Pastry

• 300g plain flour
• 60g icing sugar
• Rind of ½ a lemon, finely grated
• Pinch of salt
• 175g cold butter, diced
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp vanilla

Filling

• 200g butter, room temperature, diced
• 200g icing sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp honey
• 200g almond meal
• 30g plain flour
• 300g Seville orange marmalade (or any marmalade you can find)

Method

Make the pastry:

Put the flour, icing sugar, lemon rind and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. This will only take seconds. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse again until the mixture clings together to form a dough. If it seems dry and is not coming together, you can add 1 – 2 tablespoons of cold water.

Remove from the bowl and press the pastry into a disk. Wrap tightly in cling-film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry in-between two sheets of baking paper to around 3mm thick. Peel off one sheet of paper and flip the pastry over into a loose-bottom tart tin (either 35 x 12cm rectangular or 23cm round).  Peel off the second piece of baking paper and use your fingertips to press the pastry evenly into the tin. Trim off any excess, prick the base all over with a fork, and place into the fridge while you get on with the filling. Refrigerate any scraps of pastry to decorate the top if you feel inclined.

Filling:

Put the butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat with electric beaters until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well in-between additions.  Add the honey, almond meal and plain flour and fold everything together until well combined.

Preheat your oven to 200 C (180 C fan forced).

Remove the tart shell from the fridge and place a large sheet of baking paper in the centre. Fill with pie weights (you can buy these from kitchenware stores, or simply use dried beans or rice instead) and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the pastry is light golden in colour. This process is called ‘blind baking’ and ensures the pastry will be crisp.

Turn the heat down to 180 C (160 C fan forced) and remove the tart case from the oven and tip in the marmalade, covering the base. Top with the almond paste and smooth the top. If you like, cut out shapes of scrap pastry to decorate the top (this isn’t necessary, but it does make it look pretty).

Place the tart back into the oven and cook for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and feels slightly firm to touch.

Allow to cool before removing from the tart tin. Dust liberally with icing sugar and serve.

Serves 8