LUNCHES:
Tartelettes Niçoises
MAKES: 4 servings
PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes,
plus 10 minutes of salting
COOKING TIME: 30 minutes
extra virgin olive oil cooking spray
75g/2½oz/heaped ½ cup grated
courgette
20g/¾oz/2 tablespoons chickpea flour
50g/1¾oz/½ cup finely grated
Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1 egg, beaten
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
400g/14oz/scant 1²⁄³ cups tinned
chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
4 thyme sprigs, 1 left whole, and 3 with
leaves removed and chopped, plus
extra sprigs to serve
1 handful of chopped parsley
a pinch of stevia-based natural
sweetener or xylitol
30g/1oz drained anchovies in oil
200g/7oz tinned tuna drained and
flaked
1 handful of pitted black olives, halved
½ red onion, finely sliced
fine sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper
blanched green beans, to serve
1 Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas 6 and mist four 9cm/3½in loose-based tart tins with cooking spray. Put the courgette in a sieve, sprinkle with salt, and leave to drain for 10 minutes.
2 Press down on the courgette with the back of a wooden spoon to remove as much water as possible, then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the flour, Parmesan, and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Add the egg and mix thoroughly until the mixture comes together to form a “dough”.
3 Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Using the back of a metal spoon, gently press the dough into the bottom (not the sides) of the tins and blind bake for 10 minutes until golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and set aside.
4 Meanwhile, mist a non-stick frying pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes, adding 1 tablespoon of water to prevent the onion and garlic from browning, if necessary. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme sprig, parsley, and natural sweetener. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
5 Remove the pan from the heat and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprig. Purée the sauce with a hand blender, or transfer to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Blot the anchovies on kitchen paper, then cut each fillet in half. Spread a layer of sauce over each tartlet base, then sprinkle one-quarter of the tuna, olives, red onion, thyme leaves, and anchovies over the top of each one. (Any remaining sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 day.) Bake for 10 minutes until the base has browned and the filling has heated through. Serve one tartlet per person with a pile of crisp blanched green beans and thyme sprigs.
Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 236kcal Protein 26.4g Carbohydrates 12.2g Fat 38.8g
