Barbara's crustless savoury tart

This is one of my Mom's recipes. I realise she hasn't had much of a look-in on this blog so far. This is partly because she only came to enjoy cooking in her retirement, by which time I had long since left home. My Mom had the disadvantage of being the daughter of a good cook and then the daughter-in-law of an even better cook (nothing my Mom ever made was good enough for my Dad).

After my parents split up, my Mom was a single parent, working full time. Cooking was something to be done as quickly and easily as possible each evening after work, in order to get the kids fed on a severely limited budget. Our meals tended to be very ordinary.

These days, my Mom is much more daring. This recipe dates back to my teens. Back then, it was quite adventurous by my Mom's standards.

Double recipe, single dish

The recipe makes two tarts. You can halve it, of course. When I made it on this occasion, I put the whole double recipe into a single large pyrex dish and it worked just fine. I didn't even increase the time (but then, I have a fan-assisted oven, which makes a significant difference).

Oven temperature

180C

Ingredients

250g bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 thick slices of bread (about 2cm), crusts removed
625ml milk
30ml butter/marg
6 eggs
500ml grated cheese (mature cheddar works well)
1 tin corned beef (aka bully beef), mashed/chopped
5ml chopped parsley and/or chives
5ml English or Dijon mustard (optional - I leave this out)
salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Fry the bacon and onion together lightly. You shouldn't need oil - there is enough fat in bacon.
• Place the bread, milk and butter into a saucepan and boil gently for 5 minutes.Mash the bread and leave to cool.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl.
• Stir in the cheese, bacon and onion, bread and milk mixture.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Pour into two pie plates and bake for 30 minutes until the egg has set.
• Eat hot or cold with salads.

Notes:

Try using different meats. Frankfurters work really well, and if you have a few slices of ham left over from making the kids' sandwiches, chuck them in, too.
You could also try it with vegetables. It's a great way to deal with a few leftover vegetables. Broccoli works brilliantly, as do peas, grated carrot and chunks of potato. Just cook them lightly first.