Not Your Standard

Tomato Ricotta Tart

May 22, 2013

Hello, delicious tart that would be great to serve for brunch, lunch or dinner! Yes, a recipe that suits all three meals – that’s a winner. This tomato ricotta tart has a flaky and buttery crust, topped with roasted herbed tomatoes that lay on a creamy pillow of warm ricotta cheese…agh, so good! I served this one over the weekend with a simple arugala and onion salad; it was the perfect note to wrap up a perfect weekend in Berlin.

Tomato Ricotta Tart (slightly adapted from Donal Skehan)

(makes one 23 inch tart)

For the pastry:
1 cup of plain flour
170g (3/4 cup) very cold, butter (cut into small cubes)

1 teaspoon sea salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
30 – 40 ml ice cold water

For the tomatoes:

2 cups of cherry tomatoes
250g of ricotta cheese
1 tsp of thyme, fresh or dried
A small handful of oregano, roughly chopped (dried works fine also!)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Sea salt and ground black pepper for seasoning

Place the flour and butter in a bowl and using 2 butter knives, cut the butter into the flour until you have a rough pebble mixture.

Whisk together the egg with the balsamic vinegar and sea salt. Add this to the butter and flour and using two forks gently toss through until the dough begins to come together.

Add a little cold water to bring the dough to a rough ball…if your pastry dough seems like it’s not coming together at all, it is okay to add a bit more water! Just remember it will not be a wet dough at all. Turn the pastry out on to cling wrap, wrap it up and place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

While the pastry is resting preheat the oven the 190˚C / 375 F

Slice the tomatoes in half and place in a bowl. Toss with olive oil, thyme, oregano and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Let rest to develop flavour! YUM

When the pastry has rested, roll out on a clean well floured work surface using a rolling pin, until you have a large round which will fit a 23cm tart tin with a removable base and is about 5mm in thickness.

Transfer the pastry to the tart tin and cut off any loose edges. *Trick : To transfer the dough, roll the dough loosely around the rolling pin and unroll onto your tart pan.

Prick the base surface with a fork and then spread with ricotta cheese.

Place the tomatoes on top and bake in the oven for about 40-45 minutes until the tomatoes have reduced in size by half, slightly charred and the pastry has turned a golden brown! Serve with a little balsamic glaze or side salad!

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Maxi It Out

May 21, 2013

maxi dress, h&m, handm, basics, all black outfit, ootd, streetstyle, berlin, fashion, style, blogger, not your standard, kayla seah, leather vest, how to wear a maxi dress

Maxi Dress: H&M / Leather Vest: Blush Shop (similar here) / Booties: Gardenia Copenhagen / Clutch: Vintage / Studded Cuff & Ring: Mango / Sunnies: Elizabeth & James

I kept it simple on the weekend in this black maxi number. I think everyone needs a good basic maxi dress in their wardrobe, it’s one of those items that can look completely different depending on what you pair it with. A opted for a leather vest this time around but as the temperature drops a bit this week, I’m thinking of throwing a cropped sweater over it and wearing it more as a skirt! This is a versatile basic.

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The Essentials

May 17, 2013

For her:

1. Elizabeth and James Cat Eye Sunglasses

2. Bobbi Brown BB Cream

3. Not Your Standard Business Cards

4. Mac Lip Erase

5. Essie Lapiz of Luxury

6. Coffee Money (of course)

For him:

1. Ray Ban Original WayFarer

2. Detroit Baseball Cap

3. Hugo Boss Watch

4. USB

5. Roots Leather Cardholder

6. Iphone 5

As I’ve said again and again, it’s all in the details.

I thought it would be fun to share the essentials that my guy and I always have on us.

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Honey Rosemary Lamb with Coucous

May 16, 2013

I love cooking and baking just about anything, but I have to admit I shy away from cooking with meat a lot of the time. I find it slightly intimidating and I’m usually very critical of my final result. However, I figured I better suck it up and get practicing, so that’s exactly what I did. I whipped up this Honey Rosemary Lamb in less than 30 minutes and was completely amazed at the finished product. I paired it with a feta couscous salad with an orange vinaigrette dressing – I impressed myself with this one. Find my recipe over on The Luxe Life.