This week, we turn once more to the savoury side of things, and because we appear to be enjoying some lovely warm weather at the moment – by the way, how brilliant was the Tour De France? – I thought I’d keep the recipe to the lighter end of the spectrum.

This recipe came to me as an idle thought one, day, and then developed into a fully-fledged recipe after a few tests and trials. It’s basically a riff on the tried and trusted classic combination of fresh peas and ham.

The fresh, sweet flavours of peas seem to be attracted to the rich salty savoury notes of cured pork, whether it’s a regular roast shoulder or a few rashers of crispy bacon.

Now, I’ll be honest here, I’m not a huge fan of peas, or rather let’s just say they’re not my favourite vegetable. I think it’s the cumulative effect of 40-odd years of being served slightly overcooked peas.

For me, they need to be tip-top fresh, and cooked for the briefest of moments. Essentially they just need warming rather than cooking.

Fresh peas, raw from a sun-warmed pod are about as good as these vegetables get, so any further cooking has to be quick and attentive.

Once they get cooked over a certain stage, they begin to exude a ‘1980s school canteen’ smell that I can’t abide, and turn an unappealing olive colour. You must cook peas fast and hard, a matter of seconds in plenty of boiling salted water, and then serve them straight away, or plunge them into iced water to stop the heat immediately if you’re using them in further dishes such as risottos or biryanis.

I wanted to make a nice set pea custard to fill a tart, on top of which I’d imagined strewing shreds of crispy ham and all sorts of flowers and herbs, but was aware that making a regular quiche-type custard involving peas meant cooking the filling for at least half an hour, thus destroying any sense of that essential freshness.

So, I decided instead upon a panna cotta recipe I’d had for a few years. It makes a lovely wobbly pea custard with the advantage of barely cooking the peas, thus retaining a vibrant emerald green colour, bolstered with a handful of super-green parsley, and retains all that sweet, crunchy pod-fresh flavour. It also means that you can make the custard and use it in all manner of recipes – perhaps filling hollowed out vegetables such as courgettes, or even muffin moulds lined with smoked salmon or Parma ham.

You can make a big tart, or individual ones. It’s so very versatile. And here, it goes beautifully with the crunch of buttery pastry and those crunchy shards of deeply savoury ham.

A lovely summery tart, perfect for alfresco dining, as a first course or a main dish. And a way to redress our terrible historical cruelty to the noble pea, one of this season’s star attractions.

FOR THE PASTRY:

180g plain flour

100g butter, chilled and diced

A pinch of Maldon salt

Chilled water

FOR THE PEA CUSTARD:

300g frozen peas (ideally ones you have podded and frozen yourself)

1 large ‘banana’ shallot, or ½ a small onion, very finely diced

A handful of flatleaf parsley

1 tbsp butter

360ml milk

120ml double cream

120ml vegetable stock (made with ½ tsp Marigold bouillon)

S&P

6 leaves gelatine

FOR THE CRISPY HAM:

A small ham hock or shank (on the bone)

Vegetable stock

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

EXTRAS:

A handful extra peas

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

A little lemon juice

Fresh herbs & flowers (nasturtium, mallow, borage)

Pea shoots

An 8-inch pastry tin or ring mould

METHOD:

Braise the ham hock in the vegetable stock for a couple of hours, or until it is almost falling off the bone. Strain and cool until you can handle the flesh, then flake all of the meat into a bowl. The ham stock can be frozen for soups.

Pull apart the flaked ham with forks or by hand until you have lots of fine filaments of lovely sticky meat. Set aside until you’re ready to assemble the tart.

To make the pastry, by hand or in a machine, rub the butter with the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add a pinch of salt. Sprinkle in enough water to bring the dough together. Wrap the pastry and chill for an hour or so until required. Heat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Roll out the pastry to about ½cm thickness. Gently place the pastry into the tart tin, pushing all the way into the corners, and making sure there are no holes. Allow the pastry to overlap a few inches. Carefully line the pastry case with scrunched baking parchment, and fill with baking beans (a few copper coins work well if you have no beans). Bake the tart for 10-15 minutes until the pastry has set and is starting to become golden.

Remove the baking parchment carefully, and bake the tart case for a further five minutes to allow the base to cook. It should be a nice deep golden colour. Set it to one side whilst you make the other elements.

To make the pea custard, first soak the gelatine in plenty of cold water until soft. Gently warm the cream, stock and milk together in a pan, whilst sweating the shallots in the butter in another pan.

When the shallots are completely transparent and soft, tip them in the cream and bring to the boil. Add the peas and the parsley, then bubble away for only a few seconds before removing from the heat. Add the gelatine, which should be squeezed as dry as possible, and whizz in a food processor or blender until smooth. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug. Fill the tart case and refrigerate until set, then bring back to room temperature before you serve. I find filling the pastry is easiest if you pour the custard in as the tart sits on a tray or plate in the fridge to avoid and spillages whilst carrying.

To assemble the tart, heat the oven to 220ºC / Gas 7. Rub a little olive oil into the shredded ham and bake, turning frequently, until it becomes crispy and golden. Set to one side.

Gently warm a few peas in olive oil and season with salt and lemon juice. Top the tart with a pretty assortment of dressed peas, ham shreds, herbs and edible flowers.