The Art of the Tart: Savory and Sweet - Hardcover

Day-Lewis, Tamasin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375504923 ISBN 13: 9780375504921

Publisher: Random House, 2001

Synopsis

Tarts are the perfect self-contained treat, a delectable indulgence. In this special collection, Tamasin Day-Lewis provides classic recipes and new twists for an assortment of savory and sweet tarts. She explores the rituals of their preparation, from rolling to primping and patching to whisking, all of which make tarts the most satisfying of foods — to make and to eat.

The home chef is taught to prepare a variety of crusts from easy-to-follow directions. The most difficult step is trying to figure out which of the mouth-watering fillings to use. Included is everything from Sweet Corn and Spring Onion Tart to Rhubard Meringue Pie.

Beautifully designed, featuring more than fifty full-color photographs, and sumptuously filled, The Art of the Tart is sure to be the perfect addition to any cookbook collection.

About this title

Review:

Tamasin Day-Lewis writes so beautifully, so eloquently, and so descriptively that it's almost impossible to choose which of her exceptional, delectable tarts to begin with. Her tone is warm, friendly, and generous, and her attitude towards food and cooking will make you nod and smile and want to read this cookbook aloud to anyone who'll listen. She laments that the "current speed-addicted climate" has pushed so many of us to give up cooking from scratch. We have been convinced to make questionably nutritious fast food instead of relishing the relaxation, pleasure, enjoyment of not just preparing good food, but of eating it in the way it is meant to be eaten--by savoring it slowly.

Early childhood memories of standing on a kitchen chair, cuffs covered with flour, making her first tarts, and then impatiently biting into a hot jam tart and the sweetly searing pain that results inspired Day-Lewis to write this book. Tarts, she argues, are superior fast food. With practice, the dough can be made quickly and in batches large enough that there's no need to make the dough every time. Fillings can be as simple as the onions, eggs and cream necessary for the Onion Tart. And longer recipes are just longer, not any more complicated or difficult to follow. "Anyone reading this book," says Day-Lewis, "should not doubt his or her ability to achieve every one of the recipes." She assumes "basic skills and competence," and a bit of curiosity. Many of these recipes are remakes of old favorites, but because Day-Lewis is writing in the U.K. and Ireland, most of those old favorites are brand new in America. The Leek, Potato, and Oatmeal Tart is a substantial cold-weather dish made with oatmeal crust filled with garlic, leeks, potatoes, and cheddar. Treacle Tart is "gloopy, gooky, toothachingly sweet," best served with "a solid spoonful of clotted cream slipping deliquescent from the slice, turning buttery at the edges as it slides." How can anyone read that and not start checking the kitchen for ingredients?

Divided by the chapters "Savory Tarts," "Sweet Tarts," and "Other People's Tarts" (try Nigel Slater's Broccoli, Blue Cheese, and Crème Fraiche Tart and Richard Corrigan's Banana Tart), the book is sprinkled with vibrant color photographs of lusciousness such as the Peach, Vanilla, and Amaretti Tarte Tatin ("amber-hued ... speckled with vanilla and sticky with caramel") and the bright yellow Corn and Scallion Tart with a Polenta Crust. Day-Lewis is inventive, as is evident with recipes such as Monkfish Tart with Bearnaise, Tomato, Goat's Camembert, and Herb Tart; Rhubarb, Honey, and Saffron Tart; and Brûléed Black Currant or Blueberry Tart. If your taste buds (or those of your audience) are less adventurous, you can start with Asparagus Tart, Potato, Garlic, and Parsley Torte, or Quiche Lorraine. And no one will ever turn down a "state-of-the-art" Lemon Tart, a Strawberry Tart ("voluptuous ... and glazed to gloopy perfection"), or Simon Hopkinson's Chocolate Tart ("If there is a heaven, this is it," says Day-Lewis). Whatever your time frame, your kitchen comfort level, or your palate, Day-Lewis will leave you with your cuffs in flour, composing a thank-you note in your head to this most delightful author. --Leora Y. Bloom

About the Author:

Tamasin Day-Lewis writes for the London Daily Telegraph, Vanity Fair, and Food Illustrated. She edited The Englishwoman’s Kitchen, and in 1994, she was a finalist for The London Independent “Cook of the Year”. She is also the author of West of Ireland Summers and Last Letters Home. She lives in Somerset, England.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0375504923
• ISBN 13: 9780375504921
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144