Head chef Jules Hetherton’s interest in food started from her school days in cookery class. ‘Since those early days I’ve just loved being creative with food and seeing people enjoy what I prepare,’ she says.

Great British Life: EXG OCT 16 Recipe MainEXG OCT 16 Recipe Main (Image: Archant)

The menus at Strattons are updated regularly to reflect the seasonal produce available locally. Jules and her brigade are kept busy feeding not only the restaurant guests, but also those who choose to stay over in the award-winning boutique hotel. Here she shares her recipe for a light fish tart with a tangy tomato sauce

Makes 6 x 12cm tarts

Ingredients

For the Pastry

375g of plain flour

150g of butter

1 egg

Chilled water to bind

For the Filling

2 eggs

300ml of double cream

2 heaped tbsp of grated Alpine cheese

1 onion (finely sliced) and sautéed in 1 tbsp butter until soft

500g of smoked haddock poached in water until just cooked and flaked off the skin

For the tomato sauce

800g of Cornerway’s Midi Plum tomatoes

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 onion (diced)

2 cloves of garlic (crushed)

1 tbsp of tomato puree

1 tsp of soft brown sugar

1 tsp of tarragon (chopped)

Juice of ½ lemon

Seasoning to taste

Method

To prepare the pastry, place the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter, then add the egg and enough water to make a soft dough. Line individual pastry cases with the pastry and allow to rest in the fridge. Blind bake at 180⁰C for 15 minutes.

For the filling, whisk the eggs with the cream. Add the cheese, seasoning and finally the onions.

Place the flaked haddock onto the part-baked pastry cases and pour over the custard mix. Bake for 15 minutes at 180⁰C.

To prepare the tomato sauce, heat the oven to 180⁰C and roast the tomatoes, drizzled with half the olive oil, for 25 minutes. Squeeze the tomatoes through a sieve. Fry the onion and garlic in the remaining olive oil until tender. Add the sieved tomatoes, puree, sugar and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tarragon and lemon juice, and season to taste.

Serve the warm smoked fish tarts with the tomato sauce, new potatoes and a green salad.

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Strattons

Ash Close

Swaffham

Norfolk

PE37 7NH

01760 723845

PE37 7NH