As simple or as elaborate as you want to make them, tarts can be either sweet and creamy, filled with fruit, vegetables, seafood, meat, chicken or cheese. They can be bite-sized for variety, just enough for one's meal or large enough for a family of four to enjoy. But the base of success will surely be the quality of the pastry that encases all the riches.

Making shortcrust pastry - or any of its varieties such as brise, is relatively easy, just blend together flour, fat and a little water and that's it.

Well yes, but that's not quite all. There are a few tried and tested basic rules to follow to make the pastry rich and crumbly. Ratio of fat to flour: the amount of fat should be 50 percent of the flour, ie 5 of fat to 10 of flour.

The fat: butter or lard or a mixture of the two in equal parts, the butter imparts a rich flavor while the lard gives the pastry a lovely silky texture. Liquid: use just enough to bind it all together and no more.

In both sweet and savory shortcrust pastry tarts and quiches, the fat and flour must be blended thoroughly before any liquid is added. This is to prevent gluten forming, by ensuring the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and so less likely to develop gluten which would make the mixture rise. Overworking the dough can also be a problem. It lengthens the gluten strands, creating pastry that is tough, rather than light and flaky.

For a savory pie or quiche, put 8 ozs (230gms) plain flour in a large bowl, add a pinch of salt, and 4 oz (125 gms) of butter cubes. Rub the fat into the flour using your fingertips, until it looks like breadcrumbs and all the lumps of butter have disappeared. Work very quickly to keep it all from melting and going greasy. On hot days I like to set the bowl inside a bigger bowl containing some water with a few ice cubes for best results - just make sure the water doesn't get into the pastry bowl. Using one or two knives or a pastry wire, add 1 beaten egg and cut in 4 Tbsp (60mls) cold water a little at a time until the pastry binds. Handle the pastry as little as possible and wrap it all in cling film and chill it in the 'fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).

Remove the pastry from the fridge and place between two sheets of cling film (larger in size than your tart tin). Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry out to in (5mm ) thickness, the smaller the tartlet tins the thinner the pastry. Ensure the pastry is large enough to line both the base and sides of the tins.

Next, line the pastry with enough parchment paper to come up the sides. Fill with dry beans and bake for 15-20 minutes. For a savory tart/quiche whisk 3 large eggs in a bowl, add pint (300ml) double cream, 1oz (25 gms) each of cheddar, Gruyere, and blue cheese and 3 ozs (100 gms) finely chopped purple onions. Mix well, add salt and white pepper.

Take the pastry from the oven, remove the paper and beans, pour the filling into the pastry base and return to the oven for 30 minutes until the center sets.

For blueberry or cherry sweetcrust tarts, use 250g/9oz plain flour, 4oz (110g) butter, 1 oz (27 gms) caster (fine) sugar, and 1 small egg. Mix as above, roll, line tins with parchment paper, put pastry into tin(s) with dry beans and bake for 15 minutes.

For the pastry cream filling mix together 5 egg yolks, 4 ozs (110 gms) fine caster sugar, 1 oz (30 gms) plain flour, 12 fl ozs (24 Tbsp, pt) milk, 4 drops vanilla essence or the pulp from a vanilla pod, 8 fl ozs (220 ml) double cream. Add a quantity of washed blueberries to suit your taste, sprinkle with a little fine sugar, add to the baked pastry and return to oven for 25-30 minutes.

Variations: Pte foncer is French shortcrust pastry that includes egg. Egg and butter are worked together with a small quantity of sugar and salt before the flour is drawn into the mixture and cold water added to bind it.

My favourite Pte brise is light and delicate due to an increase in the amount of butter - up to three fifths (3/5) the quantity of flour.

For all of these pastries, sweet and savory, you can use a food processor. Just pulse the butter and flour briefly. Add half of the beaten egg and continue to pulse. Add rest of egg, and water if needed but not too much as the mixture should be just moist enough to come together.

For an extra special result, remove the stones (pips) from a bunch of fresh black cherries - using a stoner or sharp knife, and marinate in 2-4 Tbsp Cherry Heering liqueur for one hour. *Drain and add to the filling before final baking. *Reserve the liquid to serve with the tart(s). A spoonful of vanilla ice-cream may be added when serving.

(HK Edition 08/30/2013 page7)