Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Sausage, Pickled Chillies and Pecorino Tart

Inspired by some of the sandwiches we had during lockdown - posh broccoli, tasty Italian cheese and sausage is, and always will be, a winner with me. So I've turned it into a delicious quiche!

Ingredients

1 pack of ready rolled shortcrust pastry

150g purple sprouting broccoli

½ tsp olive oil

3 cumberland sausages

18g pickled red chillies

60g pecorino cheese, grated

4 eggs

250ml double cream

Salt

Pepper

Method

Remove the pastry from the fridge 30 minutes beforehand.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C fan.

Place the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and roll it out a little more widthways so it’s large enough to line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Trim some of the excess pastry but keep a little to overhang. Use a fork to prick the base all over.

Cut out a circle of baking paper and place across the base of the tart then fill with baking beans. Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and remove the baking beans and baking paper. Place back into the oven for another 5 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly before trimming off the excess pastry with a sharp knife.

Whilst the pastry is cooking, you can prepare the filling. Separate/cut the broccoli into bitesize pieces, about 7cm in length you don't want anything too large and chunky in there but not too small either. Prepare a pan of boiling water, add the broccoli and cook for few minutes until al dente. It'll continue cooking in the oven. Drain and set aside to cool.

In a medium sized frying pan, on a medium heat, add the olive oil. Remove the skins from the sausages, then break up the sausage meat into chunks and add into the pan. Fry until brown all over. Remove from the heat and let it cool.

In a measuring jug or medium sized bowl, combine the eggs and double cream and whisk well. Season generously – this is important as salt and pepper will really lift this. Add the grated pecorino cheese and stir again.

At this point your tart case and fillings should be cool. Place the broccoli evenly inside the pastry case and do the same for the cooked sausage meat. Scatter over the pickled chillies then pour over the egg mixture as evenly as you can. Place back into the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes until the tart looks golden on top. To check it's cooked in the centre you can stick a skewer or knife into the centre and if it comes out clean it'll be cooked.

Set aside to cool slightly then slice and serve.

Enjoy!