Courgette and prawn tart

• By Mark Camilleri

You will need:

For the short-crust pastry: 200g of plain flour, 50g of ground pine nuts, 50g of lard, 50g of butter, 45ml of water, a pinch of salt.

For the filling: two courgettes (grated), one clove of garlic (finely chopped), two tablespoonfuls of olive oil, one teaspoonful of chilli flakes, 12 fresh prawns (shelled and de-veined), two eggs (beaten), 100g of mature cheddar (grated), 75ml of milk, two tablespoonfuls of fresh basil (chopped), 75ml of fresh cream, the zest of one lemon, salt and pepper.

To make the pastry, sieve the flour and salt together. Add the pine-nuts and rub in the fat until the mixture has the texture of sand. Make a well in the centre and add the water gradually, stirring until you have smooth dough. Wrap this in cling-film and refrigerate it for a couple of hours. If you don’t want to make your own pastry, you can buy it ready-made. To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a pan, add the chilli flakes and garlic, and once the aroma of the garlic is released, add the prawns, cooking them until they are golden. Now add the courgettes, and stir them for a couple of minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add salt and pepper, the lemon zest and basil. Butter a tart-dish, roll out the pastry and cut out a piece the right size to line the bottom and sides, with a little over the edge. Put in the filling. Cover the surface with grated cheddar. Mix the beaten eggs, milk and cream and pour this on. Bake it for 10 minutes at gas mark 3/160C, then turn the heat up to gas mark 5/180C and bake it for another 20 minutes or until the filling has set and the pastry is golden.