Smoked Eel, Roast Beetroot and Horseradish Tart

⏱ 110 min · Serves 6

A handsome, Nordic-leaning tart: crisp all-butter pastry, a horseradish-spiked creme fraiche custard, sweet roasted beetroot and silky smoked eel. Serve just warm with dill and lemon — it looks like it came from a very good restaurant, because it more or less did.

Per serving: 648 kcal · 22.0g protein · 34.0g carbs · 47.0g fat

Ingredients

• For the pastry: 200g plain flour
• 120g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 egg yolk
• 2-3 tbsp ice-cold water
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• For the filling: 400g raw beetroot (about 3 medium)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 200g smoked eel fillet, skin removed, cut into 4cm pieces
• 150ml double cream
• 150g creme fraiche
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp finely grated fresh horseradish (or 1.5 tbsp hot horseradish sauce)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp chopped dill, plus extra to finish
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and white pepper
• To serve: watercress, lemon wedges, extra creme fraiche

Method

1. Make the pastry: rub or pulse the flour, salt and butter to fine crumbs. Add the yolk and just enough ice water to bring it together. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill 30 minutes.
2. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan. Wrap the beetroot in foil with the oil and a pinch of salt and roast 50-60 minutes until tender. Cool a little, peel, cut into 1.5cm wedges and toss with the sugar, vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
3. Roll the pastry to 3mm and line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin, leaving a little overhang. Prick the base, chill 20 minutes.
4. Line with baking paper and beans and blind bake at 190C/170C fan for 20 minutes; remove the beans and bake 8-10 minutes more until sandy and pale gold. Trim the overhang. Drop the oven to 160C/140C fan.
5. Whisk the cream, creme fraiche, eggs and yolk, horseradish, mustard, dill, lemon zest, 1/2 tsp salt and a good grind of white pepper until smooth.
6. Scatter the beetroot and eel evenly over the tart case, keeping a few of each for the top. Pour in the custard slowly to the brim, then arrange the reserved pieces on the surface.
7. Bake 30-35 minutes until just set with the faintest wobble in the centre. Rest 20 minutes in the tin.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature, showered with dill, with watercress, lemon wedges and a spoonful of creme fraiche.