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Susan Jung

Although most people think of butter only as being made from cow’s milk and as either salted or unsalted (sometimes called “sweet”), there are many different types.
Butter can be made with milk from water buffalo, goats or yak (although you won’t find yak butter in the average supermarket), and flavoured with anything from seaweed to yuzu to chilli.
One of my favourite butters is flavoured with piment d’Espelette – a mild chilli from the French commune of Espelette.
I like to use it in tart doughs because it adds another dimension to savoury tarts: it’s not just the filling that has flavour, but also the crust.
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This dough goes well with vegetarian fillings (try it in a tart made with leftover ratatouille), and in fish and shellfish tarts.
If you can’t find piment d’Espelette butter, substitute salted butter mixed with ¼ to ½ teaspoon of piment d’Espelette.
Roasted vegetable tart with piment d’Espelette butter
When I made this tart, I was surprised at how much filling it needed. The vegetables shrink considerably when roasted, so one tart used an entire head of cauliflower and two packs of button mushrooms.
For the pâte brisée:


180 grams (¾ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour


½ tsp granulated sugar


125 grams (4½ oz) piment d’Espelette butter, chilled


About 40ml (2 tbsp plus 2 tsp) iced water


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For the filling:


1 head (about 750 grams/27 oz) cauliflower


450 grams (16 oz) button mushrooms


1 head of garlic


Olive oil, as needed


For the custard:


2 large eggs


160ml (⅔ cup) cream


160ml (⅔ cup) milk


Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper


Piment d’Espelette, for sprinkling


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1. Make the pâte brisée. Put the flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Cut the piment d’Espelette butter into 1cm (⅜ in) chunks and add them to the flour mixture, then pulse the food processor until the butter is about the size of small peas. (You can do this by hand: mix the flour and sugar in a bowl, add the chunks of butter, and use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the chilled butter chunks into pea-sized pieces.)
2. Transfer the ingredients to a bowl and drizzle with 40ml (2 tbsp plus 2 tsp) of iced water. Mix with your finger­tips until the mixture forms a cohesive dough without any dry spots; if needed, add a little more iced water. Knead the dough lightly then shape it into a disc, wrap it with cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour (although longer is better).
3. While the dough is resting, start preparing the filling. Preheat the oven to 230 degrees Celsius (450 degrees Fahrenheit). Cut the floret portion of the cauliflower head into 2.5cm (1 inch) pieces. Cut the stem portion of the cauli­flower into 1.5cm (⅔ inch) pieces.
4. Put all the cauli­flower pieces into a bowl, drizzle with about 30ml (2 tbsp) of olive oil and mix by hand until the pieces are coated lightly. Sprinkle with a little salt and mix again, then spread the cauliflower in one layer on a baking tray.
5. Quarter or halve the large and medium-size mushrooms (leave the smaller ones whole) then put them in the bowl used for the cauliflower (no need to wash it). Break the head of garlic into individual cloves, leaving the papery peel intact, and add them to the bowl. Drizzle with about 20ml (4 tsp) of olive oil, sprinkle lightly with salt, then mix.
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6. Put the mushrooms and garlic onto a baking tray. Put the trays holding the cauli­flower, mushrooms and garlic in the oven. Bake at 230 degrees Celsius (450 degrees Fahrenheit), stirring occasionally, until the ingredients are shrivelled and slightly browned in spots – about 25 minutes for the mush­rooms and garlic, and 35 minutes for the cauliflower.
7. Cool the ingredients to room temperature. Pull off and discard the garlic skin, leaving behind the flesh. If the garlic cloves are very large, tear them into two or three pieces. Turn the oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F).
8. If the dough is very hard, knead it briefly with your hands, so it’s cold but pliable. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a roundish shape that’s about 3mm thick. Carefully lay the dough over a round fluted tart pan (24cm [9 ½ inch] in diameter and 3cm [1 ¼ in] high) with a removable bottom, settling it into the pan’s contours without stretching the dough. Double over the dough at the sides of the pan, pressing firmly so the layers adhere and to make the sides an even thickness. Trim off the overhang so the dough is flush with the edge of the pan. Chill for 30 minutes.
9. Use a fork to poke holes at 1cm (⅜ in) intervals over the bottom of the tart shell then place a sheet of alum­inium foil directly on the dough, fitting it into the contours. Pour uncooked rice over the aluminium foil, so the rice is an even layer about 1cm (⅜ in) deep. Bake at 200 degrees C (390 degrees F) for 15 minutes, then turn the heat to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Bake for 10 minutes, then carefully lift out the aluminium foil and rice. Bake the shell for about 10 more minutes, or until the surface of the dough is matte, not shiny. Take the tart shell from the oven and put it on a rack to cool. Leave the oven on.
10. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with some salt and pepper, then whisk in the cream and milk. Pour the custard mixture into a measuring jug with a spout.
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11. Pack the cauliflower, mushroom and garlic into the baked tart shell; if the tart pan is the right size, almost all the vege­tables will fit. Put the filled tart shell on the bottom shelf of the oven and carefully and slowly pour in the custard until it reaches the brim of the crust without spilling out. (If you were to pour in the custard before moving the tart into the oven, the custard would slosh out.)
12. Bake at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F) for 45 min­utes to one hour, or until the custard is set – it should be just a little wobbly at the centre. Take the tart from the oven and put it on a rack.
13. Dust the tart lightly with piment d’Espelette, then cool it for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve hot or warm.
Food styling: Nellie Ming Lee
Like this recipe? Look for more in the SCMP Post Magazine, or on SCMP Cooking.



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Piment d’Espelette is a mild chilli from France that adds a subtle kick to the pastry in these vegetable tarts
Instead of a vegetable filling you can use fish or seafood, and if you can’t find piment d’Espelette butter you can easily make your own



The subtle kick of chilli in the pastry for this tart comes from the butter – if you can’t find piment d’Espelette butter, you can easily make your own.


Susan Jung's recipes

How to make roasted vegetable tart with piment d’Espelette butter that adds a chilli kick – a recipe from our archives

Piment d’Espelette is a mild chilli from France that adds a subtle kick to the pastry in these vegetable tarts Instead of a vegetable filling you can use fish or seafood, and if you can’t find piment d’Espelette butter you can easily make your own

Piment d’Espelette is a mild chilli from France that adds a subtle kick to the pastry in these vegetable tarts

Instead of a vegetable filling you can use fish or seafood, and if you can’t find piment d’Espelette butter you can easily make your own