Ricotta, pea and pesto tart
One of the recipes from my first book, The Tinned Tomatoes Cookbook, that drew people in was the tomato, cheddar and pesto tart – it's incredibly simple to make and such a crowd-pleaser. This is a similar dish, though a completely different flavour and a much fresher vibe thanks to the peas and lemon.
Overview
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
35 mins
Serves
4 to 6
Ingredients
1 x 320g packet ready-rolled puff pastry
150-200g frozen peas
250g ricotta
1 egg
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
4 tbsp Genovese basil pesto
Method
Step
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6.
Step
Unroll 1 x 320g packet ready-rolled puff pastry and lay it on a non-stick baking tray. Score along each side of the pastry, around 3cm in from the edges, to create a border – take care not to cut all the way through the pastry. Prick inside the border all over with a fork.
Step
Bake in the hot oven for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown and puffed up.
Step
While the pastry cooks, tip 150g peas into a heatproof bowl – if you'd like to scatter some whole peas over the top for decoration, use 200g. Pour freshly boiled water over the peas and leave for 2 minutes to defrost, and then drain.
Step
Put 150g of the peas, 175g of the ricotta, 1 egg, and the zest and juice of ½ lemon into a blender with a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Step
Pulse until combined and the peas have broken down a little – you can go as chunky as you like here.
Step
Remove the pastry from the oven and, using a spoon or fork, push down the puffed pastry inside the border to create a pastry case.
Step
Spread the pea and ricotta mixture over the centre of the pastry case – it's easier to start from the outside and work your way in. Return the tart to the hot oven for 8 minutes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Having affair drove me to mental breakdown but I fear I might end up having another one… this time with a man
DEAR DEIDRE: HAVING an extramarital affair – and the devastation it caused – drove me to a mental breakdown. So why am I flirting with another affair? I don't understand why I would play with this destructive behaviour again — especially as I know the fallout only too well. I'm 43, and married with two children. My wife is 40. Over the last few years, my marriage has been difficult. My wife and I have been arguing a lot, and our sex life has taken a dive. As a result, I found myself going online and looking at dating sites. I started chatting to a woman — and ended up meeting her for sex. I'd never been unfaithful to anyone before, and sneaking around and lying affected my mental health. I hated hurting my wife and started to question what sort of person I was. Eventually I confessed, which was awful. My wife became distraught and made me feel like a failure. I ended my affair but fell apart. I was unable to eat or sleep, and even felt suicidal. My wife said she still loved me, and wanted me to get better and for us to work. With help from my GP, and antidepressants, I started to feel better. My wife and I talked a lot, and we started having sex again — although it feels like we're going through the motions. But recently, I've started to fantasise about having sex with men, which I've never done before and don't understand why the idea of this arouses me so much. I can't tell my wife — she wouldn't understand. But I find myself looking at gay dating sites and checking out men in the street. I'm worried that I'm going to end up having another affair. Please help. Dear Deidre: Spotting the signs your partner is cheating DEIDRE SAYS: It's encouraging that you recognise how dangerous your behaviour is. This is the first step to making real change. It sounds like you are questioning your identity. It's likely your new interest in having sex with men is also a part of this identity crisis. Please talk to your GP again. Although anti-depressants have helped your depression symptoms, you need help to get to the root of your unhappiness. Ask about counselling. My support pack, How Counselling Can Help, has more information about this. Your wife needs to know you're still unhappy. Ask for her support and think about couple's counselling, where you can discuss your marriage. You're Not Alone EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers. It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes. And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women. Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now. That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign. The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives. Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You're Not Alone. If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support: CALM, 0800 585 858 Heads Together, HUMEN Mind, 0300 123 3393 Papyrus, 0800 068 41 41 Samaritans, 116 123 FEMALE BOSS IS PUSHING ME OUT OVER MENOPAUSE DEAR DEIDRE: I BELIEVE I'm being punished for telling my employer I'm going through the menopause. When I explained my symptoms were affecting my performance, I expected understanding and support. Instead, I've been sidelined and treated like a burden. I'm 47, and last year I started feeling off' I felt exhausted all the time, had headaches, joint pain and I couldn't concentrate. After a GP visit and various tests, I was told my symptoms were due to perimenopause. I decided to open up to my female boss, saying I was getting medical help but I needed her to know I was struggling. She wasn't understanding. And since then, I've felt she's trying to push me out. She's making me feel undermined and like I'm incompetent. I don't want to leave my job but I'm miserable, and losing all my confidence. DEIDRE SAYS: You're not alone. Research by the CIPD found two thirds of working women between 40 and 60 with menopausal symptoms said they had a negative impact on them at work. Naturally, you expected empathy. Instead, it sounds like she's discriminating against you. According to the Equality Act 2010, this could be against the law. Talk to your HR department and your trade union rep, if you have one. Contact ACAS, too, It has a section on the menopause. SHE'S SO YOUNG – DO I MAKE A MOVE? DEAR DEIDRE: MY feelings for my younger friend have turned sexual – but I'm scared to tell her. I fear she'll think I'm much too old for her, and then friendzone me. But I know we're perfect for each other. I'm 46 and she's 23. We're both single. We've been friends for six months, ever since meeting at a local book group. We share exactly the same interests and can talk for hours. We speak on the phone every day, and meet up for coffee. But lately I've realised I have romantic feelings for her. I think about her all the time, miss her when I'm not with her and when I'm in bed, I fantasise about her. I no longer just want to be friends and I know we'd have a brilliant relationship. However, I'm worried that if I tell her how I feel, she'll reject me – or worse, that it will ruin our friendship. DEIDRE SAYS: This is a tricky situation. You don't want to lose her friendship or to make her think your only interest in her is sexual. You're double her age and, despite your interests, have a very different amount of life experience, and a likely power imbalance. My support pack, Age Gaps – Do They Matter?, explains more. Age gap relationships sometimes work, but unless she's given you indication that she has romantic feelings too, I'd err on the side of caution. DO I TELL SON HE'S AUTISTIC? DEAR DEIDRE: AFTER years of noticing my son was different, he has finally been diagnosed with autism. I'm not sure how to tell him, as I'm worried he might not understand. Should I wait until he's older? My son is seven, and I'm his 42-year-old mum. He's a lovely, bright little boy but he's always had problems socialising with other kids, and issues at school. He was late to learn to talk and has always found it hard to cope in noisy environments. His dad and I knew there was something different about him and pushed for a referral, which took over a year. Now we've been told he's definitely on the autistic spectrum. I can't fault the NHS or his school, which have both been really supportive. But he doesn't know about his diagnosis, and I don't know how to explain it to him – or if I should. I don't want him to think he's got something wrong with him or to believe that he'll never amount to anything. I also worry about how it might affect his future, and how other people will treat him. I'd really appreciate some advice. DEIDRE SAYS: Your son is already aware he's different so it's a good idea to explain his condition to him. If you don't, he might worry more. One way to make it simple is to say that people are like smartphones. One type isn't better than another – they just run on different systems and have their own special features. So, for example, neurotypical people are iPhones and neurodiverse people, like him, are android phones. Contact the National Autistic Society ( to see if there are any local groups where you can meet other people with neurodiverse children.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Lottery results and numbers: Lotto and Thunderball draw tonight, June 18, 2025
THE NATIONAL Lottery results are in and it's time to find out who has won a life-changing amount of money tonight (June 18, 2025). Could tonight's £5.2 million jackpot see you handing in your notice, jetting off to the Bahamas or driving a new Porsche off a garage forecourt? 3 3 You can find out by checking your ticket against tonight's numbers below. Good luck! Tonight's National Lottery Lotto winning numbers are: 08, 15, 31, 38, 44, 49 and the Bonus Ball is 59. Tonight's National Lottery Thunderball winning numbers are: 05, 07, 10, 11, 18 and the Thunderball is 02. The first National Lottery draw was held on November 19 1994 when seven winners shared a jackpot of £5,874,778. The largest amount ever to be won by a single ticket holder was £42million, won in 1996. Gareth Bull, a 49-year-old builder, won £41million in November, 2020 and ended up knocking down his bungalow to make way for a luxury manor house with a pool. TOP 5 BIGGEST LOTTERY WINS ACROSS THE WORLD £1.308 billion (Powerball) on January 13 2016 in the US, for which three winning tickets were sold, remains history's biggest lottery prize £1.267 billion (Mega Million) a winner from South Carolina took their time to come forward to claim their prize in March 2019 not long before the April deadline £633.76 million (Powerball draw) from a winner from Wisconsin £625.76 million (Powerball) Mavis L. Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts claimed the jackpot in August 2017 £575.53 million (Powerball) A lucky pair of winners scooped the jackpot in Iowa and New York in October 2018 Sue Davies, 64, bought a lottery ticket to celebrate ending five months of shielding during the pandemic — and won £500,000. Sandra Devine, 36, accidentally won £300k - she intended to buy her usual £100 National Lottery Scratchcard, but came home with a much bigger prize. The biggest jackpot ever to be up for grabs was £66million in January last year, which was won by two lucky ticket holders. Another winner, Karl managed to bag £11million aged just 23 in 1996. The odds of winning the lottery are estimated to be about one in 14million - BUT you've got to be in it to win it. 3
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
We inherited our run-down family seat in 2002. It's still not finished
On a dark, rainy January morning in 2002, Liz and John Thorold walked into the 700-year-old Marston Hall as the new owners. Liz flicked the light switch to view the great hall of their grade II* listed stately home, and promptly fused the electrics of the entire house. 'I thought to myself, is this a good idea?' she inherited Marston from his cousin Henry, an eccentric chaplain with little interest in either heating or maintenance. He owned the house from 1940 until he died, without children, in 2000, aged 78, leaving behind every copy of The Times since 1950 and an extensive damp problem. The floors and walls were soaking, water was running along the kitchen floor and the library reeked of rotting books. The central chimney and three walls appeared perilously close to collapse. John, 77, a chartered surveyor who also flies light aircraft, says: 'It dawned on me slowly how immense the task was. Like learning to fly, you realise after some months that you took on more than you thought. But you get on with it.' • Read more expert advice on property, interiors and home improvement This resolve would see John virtually rebuild the main structures of Marston over 20 years — prising up floorboards, stripping back plaster to the bones of the house, dodging falling ceilings and hoisting roof timbers. Perhaps it was ancestral spirit. The Thorolds trace their line back to Vikings from southern Sweden; some settled in eastern England and others in Normandy. They even make a cameo appearance in the Bayeux Tapestry. The family have lived at Marston, in Grantham — the Lincolnshire town famous as the birthplace of Margaret Thatcher — since 1380 when Richard Thorold, of Yorkshire, married the local heiress Joan de Marston. There may have been a domestic building on the site as far back as the 10th century, but the present structure is later. 'The building is largely from the 1300s and the stonework is crude,' John says. The house and grounds have evolved over seven centuries, along with the fortunes of the family. There are Elizabethan features, such as the porch, which was added in 1577. Two wings were also added, making the 'E' shape that was popular at the time. During the English Civil War the Thorolds were royalists, prompting Oliver Cromwell to ride over and burn down the southern wing of the E, in 1642. The northern wing was removed about 200 years later, restoring symmetry. A succession of Thorolds became MPs for local constituencies, and the family had a strong line in clergymen, including cousin Henry and his father Ernest, who was chaplain to Edward VIII. John believes Ernest refused a request from the king to marry him to the divorcee Wallis Simpson. Henry, a classicist with a passion for Georgian style, wrote Shell Guides — guidebooks to Britain — and was friends with John Betjeman and the artist John Piper. Several Piper watercolours and prints still grace the red dining room. When Henry died, Marston went into a trust and the trustees approached John about taking it on. At the time John and Liz and their twins, Guy and Alexandra, were living in Putney, southwest London. 'It was not hard to convince the trust that I was the man to do it as I'm a chartered surveyor,' John says. Liz, in her forties at the time and working in a London art gallery, and the twins, then aged ten, needed a little more convincing. During the first few years they mainly stayed in London while John travelled up to work on the house from Thursday to Monday, but often joined him at weekends. The first challenge was funding. The trustees gave John £127,000, which was raised by selling paintings from the house, including at least one by John Ferneley, who specialised in horses and hunting scenes. John auctioned other heirlooms, including a portrait by Henry Raeburn of two boys, Thorold relatives, which fetched £10,000. He estimates that he cut restoration costs from well over a million to a quarter of that, by being as hands-on as possible. 'I didn't do a huge survey but I had some builders — a father and son — and myself, and we just worked away at each little problem. No architect, and me as surveyor. One problem after the next. I aimed to gather a team around me who regarded the building as their own.' First they stripped the plaster from about half the walls of the house. Electricians installed new wiring and professionals replastered. John did much of the plumbing and rebuilt the 'almost non-existent' sewerage system. Damp was affecting many of the floors. Inspired by aircraft systems, John installed fans in the roof space and pipes to the ground floor to push air down and out through floor vents. The dining room floor was beyond saving and had to be replaced with new oak. He estimates it took about five years to dry out the house. Next they tackled the unstable walls. The southwest corner had to be taken down and rebuilt. But repairs to the southeast wall suddenly became critical: an earth tremor in 2008 left the wall moving further outwards from the house. This at least meant that insurance would cover the cost of rebuilding the wall, which took two months. The builders next stripped back the roof over the main part of the house and rebuilt it. John joined them to tackle the leaning central chimney, reconstructing part of it and removing the top. Several years later, though, water dripping through a bathroom ceiling heralded a new roof problem, on the east side of the house. John, his builders and an apprentice went up and discovered that tiles were missing. Taking the roof apart, they found that 90 per cent of the medieval structure needed replacing. This meant getting heavy green oak timbers up to the roof. John created a pulley system and hauled while his apprentice rebuilt above. Each challenge required more funds. Working with the builders and the apprentice, the family built a cottage and sold it. The builders also restored a stable cottage attached to the house; the family now get rental income from several cottages on the estate, and from grazing. A plan to hold weddings at Marston foundered due to objections about noise, traffic and parking. Instead, the family hope to build more cottages to shore up their income and support the estate. Liz and John made Marston their full-time home in 2020 after Liz, 70, gave up her work in London. They thought the main repairs had finished in 2022. But then the kitchen ceiling collapsed last year. Did they ever feel like giving up? 'There were moments when I was trying to juggle the finances, but I never wanted to get out,' John says. Liz says their twins, aged 32, love coming for Christmas and Easter. Alexandra works in a contemporary art gallery and Guy is a pilot. John hopes the next generation will feel about Marston as he does. 'Being in the place — as much as the building — where your ancestors had been for the last 700 years gives you an incredibly grounded feeling. This house is in my blood. '
