Gelf says: “These spicy little numbers are great eaten hot from the oven or cooled and packed away for lunch or a picnic. Make sure you push a good helping of cheese into each tart, as the creamy mozzarella really makes these special. I use tinned ready-cooked beans for convenience – use any combo of beans you fancy. And, as always with chilli, up the heat or lower it, according to your tolerance.”

Makes 6

Ingredients

• 500g shortcrust pastry (see page 16 of Great Pies or store-bought) 
• Flour, to dust
• Egg wash (beaten egg)

For the filling:

• 2 balls of mozzarella (125g each)
• 250g shallots, halved
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium-heat red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 200g passata
• 400g tin mixed beans, drained and rinsed
• 200g cherry vine tomatoes
• Sea salt and freshly cracked
• black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line six individual 10cm tart tins placed on a baking sheet (as described on page 24). Prick the pastry, line with baking paper and baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes, then trim and seal (as detailed on page 27).

For the filling, tear the mozzarella into pieces, place in a sieve and leave to drain for at least 30 minutes.

Turn the oven up to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6. Put the shallots, garlic and thyme into a roasting tray. Trickle over the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and tumble everything together. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Take out the roasting tray, add the chilli, cumin, passata, beans and cherry tomatoes and give everything a good stir. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove and taste for seasoning; adjust accordingly. Allow to cool.

Spoon the spiced veg mixture into the tart cases and divide the mozzarella between them, pushing it into the filling. Bake in the oven for 10–15 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Leave to stand for a few minutes then carefully remove the tarts from the tins. Serve hot or at room temperature, with lots of peppery leaves.

Gelf says: “Who doesn’t love a meatball? These spicy little numbers are delicious and encasing them in pastry ensures they stay super-moist during the cooking process. Their tasty juices ooze into the tomato and olive sauce, giving it a wonderful flavour. Use good-quality butcher’s mince that has a fair amount of fat – minced pork shoulder would be ideal.”

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 500g rough puff pastry (see page 28 of Great Pies or store-bought) 
• Flour, to dust
• Egg wash (beaten egg)
• A small handful of fennel seeds

For the meatballs:

• 750g fatty pork mince
• 75g wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 medium-heat chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp English mustard 
• 100g sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
• A small bunch of oregano, leaves picked and chopped
• 3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the sauce:

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 150g green kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
• 200g cherry tomatoes 
• 200g baby leaf spinach

Method

To make the meatballs, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, seasoning generously with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into 3cm balls and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C Fan/Gas 6½.

To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 10–15 minutes until softened. Add the tinned tomatoes and sliced olives and cook for a further 10–15 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. Toss in the cherry tomatoes. Now add the spinach, a handful at a time, so it wilts down. Taste the sauce and season accordingly.

Meanwhile, spread the meatballs out in a deep roasting tray, about 25 x 20cm, and cook in the oven for about 10 minutes until they take on a little colour. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until large enough to cover the roasting tray generously, and about 5mm thick.

Drape the pastry over the filling and gently press the edges onto the sides of the tray; trim away the excess pastry. Pierce the pie lid in a few places, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with fennel seeds. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Serve the pie hot from the oven – I find buttered gnocchi works well on the side.

Gelf says: “This is an indulgent, rich dessert packed with fruit that loves to be paired with chocolate and a nice hit of rum and subtle spice. The key is to use flavourful ripe fruit and great chocolate. Applying a lattice of pastry allows you to keep an eye on the delicate filling as it cooks – you want it to just set and not rise much.”

Serves 6–8

Ingredients

• 400g sweet pastry (see page 20 of Great Pies or store-bought)
• Butter, to grease
• Flour, to dust
• Egg wash (beaten egg)

For the filling:

• 500ml double cream
• 2 oranges
• 3 star anise
• A pinch of sea salt
• 250g good-quality dark chocolate chips (70% cocoa solids)
• 3 medium eggs
• 50ml rum (optional)
• 5 Victoria (or similar) plums, halved and stoned

To serve:

• Crème anglaise (see page 238 of Great Pies) or vanilla ice cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and flour a 22cm tart tin, 3cm deep, and place on a baking sheet.

Roll out 300g of the sweet pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line the tin (as described on page 24). Prick the pastry, line it with baking paper and baking beans and bake blind, then trim and seal (as detailed on page 27).

Turn the oven down to 170°C/150°C Fan/Gas 3.

For the filling, pour the cream into a medium saucepan and grate the zest from the oranges directly into the pan. Add the star anise and salt. Heat gently over a very low heat to infuse the cream with the flavourings for 5 minutes or so, then pass through a sieve into a bowl.

Add the chocolate to the warm infused cream, whisking as you do so, and continue to whisk until the chocolate is melted and smoothly combined.

In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs and then stir in the warm chocolate mixture and the rum, if using. Set aside.

Stand the oranges on a board and cut off all the white pith. Now, holding the oranges over a bowl to catch the juice, cut in between the membranes to release the orange segments; set aside. Squeeze the orange pulp over the bowl to extract the juice, discarding any pips. Whisk this orange juice into the chocolate mixture. 

Distribute the plum halves evenly in the pastry case and scatter the orange segments around them. Carefully pour on the chocolate mixture.

Roll out the remaining pastry to a rectangle, the same length as the diameter of your tart and about half of the width. Run a lattice roller cutter along the length of the pastry and then carefully stretch the pastry widthways, to open out the lattice.

Brush the pastry edge of the tart case with egg wash and then carefully drape the pastry lattice over the filling. Press the lattice ends onto the edge of the pastry case. Gently brush the pastry lattice with egg wash.

Place the tart in the oven and bake for 40–50 minutes until the chocolate filling is just set in the middle.

Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool. Serve at room temperature with crème anglaise or ice cream.