Belinda Jeffery - A Year of Sundays : A cookbook, a conversation, and reflections on the world around me

Belinda Jeffery

A Year of Sundays

A Cookbook, a conversation, and reflections on the world around me

Who would have thought it? What started a few years ago as one little square in a far corner of the internet feels to have taken on a life of its own. For me, Instagram was initially a space to dip my toe in the waters of social media, but as time passed, I realised it was becoming much more. Although I only post once a week, on a Sunday, I noticed that I was getting more and more comments from people about what quickly became known as my Sunday Post. These have continued to grow over time, and Ive been surprised, touched, and more than a little overwhelmed by the extraordinary response my posts receive.

I talk about simple, everyday life the farmers I know and the markets I visit; cakes, pies and pythons (in our case!); cooking and eating, and my cooking classes. And I make observations about the extraordinary world of nature that is so much part of my daily life. These posts seem to have struck a chord with a remarkable number of people. Ive had ongoing chats for years with many of those who follow my posts, so much so that we almost feel like family. Theres a sense of community and a return to a simpler life around what I do and what I share.

The idea that these posts could be brought together in a book initially came from my followers, as so many have written and suggested I should do so. The seed was planted and after niggling away at me for quite some time, I finally found things falling into place like a giant jigsaw puzzle. It started to come together as though it was made to fit, just-so. The words, recipes and photos. I felt quietly excited every time I sat at my desk to add one more piece to the puzzle. The result of all that puzzling is the book you now hold in your hands. I dont quite know how to describe it I havent figured that piece of the puzzle out yet! Its a cross between a cookbook, a journal, a conversation, and reflections on the world around me. I see it being as much a bedside book just to read, as a cookbook, although Id love to think that the pages become splotched and smudged from constant use.

Belinda

My herb garden is in its full summer glory at the moment. Its absolutely chock-full of vivid-green mint and chives; spiky French tarragon with its impossibly aromatic, anise-scented leaves; great clumps of flat-leaf parsley; and tall spires of basil waving in the breeze. Ive been having a field day with them tossing them willy-nilly into just about everything I cook. The fridge and freezer are full of jars of fragrant green pesto and tubs of herb-scented soups. Weve been eating bucket-loads of pasta tossed with extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, chilli, parmesan and handfuls of whatever herbs we pick. Brilliant-green zucchini and basil risotto has been featuring heavily on the menu and, as Im a pastry cook at heart, Ive been making all sorts of herb-laden tarts, including this lovely tomato one. Its very simple. Its beauty and freshness lie in using the most flavourful tomatoes you can lay your hands on, as well as plenty of chives, tarragon and basil in the herb mix, and a delicate, soft goats cheese.

By all means, use ready-made pastry if you would like. However, at some stage, do give this cheese pastry a try. It takes no time to whiz up in a food processor and then only needs to be pressed into the tin and its ready to go. It tastes wonderful very cheesy and crunchy.

I hope your day is a gentle one.

Happy Sunday. Belinda

The fridge and freezer are full of jars of fragrant green pesto, tubs of herb-scented soups and, as Im a pastry cook at heart, Ive been making all sorts of herb-laden tarts.

SERVES 6

Ive used large tomatoes for my tart, but cherry tomatoes are fine, too theyre just a little fiddlier to seed.

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large brown onions, finely sliced
• 3 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 cloves black garlic*, optional
• 4 large-ish (about 600g) just-ripe, flavourful tomatoes
• 4 60g eggs
• cup (180ml) milk
• 130ml pure cream (or crme frache)
• 1 heaped teaspoon sea salt flakes
• freshly ground black pepper
• cup packed chopped herbs (ideally include French tarragon, basil and chives), or more to taste
• 120g soft goats cheese or marinated feta
• small herb leaves, optional, to garnish

NO-ROLL CHEESE PASTRY

• 1 cups (225g) plain flour
• 100g tasty cheese, grated
• 120g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 egg yolk (from 60g egg) mixed with 1 teaspoon water, to glaze

For the no-roll cheese pastry, put the flour and cheese into a food processor and quickly pulse together until theyre well mixed. Add the butter and whiz everything together until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, pour in 2 tablespoons (40ml) of iced water, and whiz until the mixture forms a ball around the blade.

Turn the pastry out onto a board (break off a 5 cent-size piece and pop it in the fridge, this can be used later to patch any cracks), then shape into a disc. Sit the disc in a 25cm26cm loose-based tart tin and press it evenly over the base and sides, pushing up a little higher than the top of the tin. Take your time to do this, so you get a nice, even coverage. If the sides are too thin, they may crumble as the pastry cooks. Roll a tumbler over the base to help smooth out any bumps. If you like, you can crimp the top with your fingers to form a scalloped edge. Sit the tin on a baking sheet and pop it in the fridge to chill for at least 45 minutes. You can do this up to a day ahead of time, if you like.

Preheat your oven to 200C. To blind bake the pastry, crush 2 large sheets of baking paper with your hands and open them out again (this softens the paper, making it easier to fit it into the tin). Completely cover the pastry with the sheets of paper, pressing them gently down into the corners. Spread baking weights, uncooked rice or dried beans all over the paper to about 1cm-deep.