Elevate the humble egg from breakfast to supper with these deliciously tasty and creative individual tarts.

Recipes and Styling Natalie Homan | Photographs Brendan Homan

Brussels sprout & scrambled egg tart
serves 4

200g Brussels sprouts
4 rashers streaky bacon
100g coarse breadcrumbs
1 tbsp olive oil
sea salt & cracked black pepper
40g butter
6 large eggs

for the pastry
160g plain flour
120g unsalted butter
pinch of salt
3 tbsp cold water

First, make the pastry. Pulse together the flour, butter and salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Drizzle in 3 tbsp cold water and pulse until incorporated. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently bring together, being mindful to not overwork the dough, and form into a flat disc. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm; at least 1 hour.

Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and cut into four even portions. Spray four 8cm pie tins with cooking spray. Place a portion of pastry between two sheets of baking paper and roll out with a rolling pin until 2mm thick. Line a pie tin with the pastry and prick the base with a fork. Repeat with the remaining three portions (it may be necessary to return the pastry to the refrigerator if it becomes too warm). Place the tarts in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C. To blind-bake the tarts, line with alfoil and fill the tarts with rice or beans. Bake for 12 minutes, remove the inserts and bake for a further 5 minutes. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, remove the outer leaves from a dozen of the Brussels sprouts (for garnishing) and finely shred the rest of the sprouts; set aside. Place the bacon rashers on a baking paper-lined baking tray, place a second piece of baking paper over the bacon and bake for 10 minutes, or until crisp.

Toss the breadcrumbs in the olive oil, season with salt & pepper, place on a baking paper-lined baking tray and place in the oven for 10 minutes, or until toasted. Place the reserved Brussels sprout leaves on top of the breadcrumbs for the final remaining 5 minutes. Roughly tear the bacon and place in a bowl with the breadcrumbs and Brussels sprout leaves.

Heat the butter over medium heat in a medium non-stick frypan. Add the shredded Brussels sprouts and season with salt and pepper. Saute until wilted. Turn down the heat to low, whisk the eggs and pour them over the Brussels sprouts, stirring gently with a spatula until eggs are scrambled to your liking.

To serve, divide scrambled eggs amongst the tarts, place on plates and scatter with the breadcrumb mix.

 

This recipe first appeared in the June 2020 issue of SALIFE magazine.