Ecclefechan, a small town in the Scottish Borders is famous for a few things, including being the birthplace of both the writer Thomas Carlyle and one Archibald Arnott, Napoleon’s doctor during his extended stay on St Helena, but also, and this is slightly more pertinent for a food blog, for the Ecclefechan tart, a rich concoction of butter and dried fruits in a pastry shell.
The Ecclefechan tart isn’t a very common sight, at least outside Scotland. Sainsbury’s attempted a revival a few years ago, with disastrous results after they tried to pitch it as an alternative to the Christmas mince pie, as if an alternative were actually needed.
If I’m being charitable, I’d conclude that Sainsbury’s just got their marketing wrong…they should have just let the Ecclefechan tart stand on its own, not as an alternative to this or that, but as a very decent tart in its own right, which, of course, it is.
The trickiest thing about this tart is the pastry shell. Pastry is one of those things that you’re either a natural at, or doomed to struggle with. I’m the latter, but here goes.
Weigh 250g of plain flour into a big mixing bowl and add 125g of cubed butter and a pinch of salt. Rub the butter into the flour, trying to be as light and deft as possible…you don’t want to overwork the pastry. if you’re really rubbish at this, use a food processor to pulse the butter in, but, again, go easy and don’t overdo it.
