Mediterranean veggie tart
A delicious vegetarian feast of tangy feta cheese and sweet roasted peppers and tomatoes with griddled aubergines all in a crumbly shortcrust pastry case.
Servings
4people
Cook Time
90minutes
Servings
4people
Cook Time
90minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 150˚C/130˚C FAN/GAS 2
  2. Wash the thyme. Wash the tomatoes and place in a roasting tin. Sprinkle with a little sea salt, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and scatter over the leaves of two sprigs of thyme.
  3. Wash and deseed the peppers and cut into large pieces. Place in a separate roasting tin with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
  4. Roast the peppers and tomatoes on separate oven shelves for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and raise the temperature to 180˚C/160˚C FAN/GAS 4.
  5. Meanwhile, make the pastry. Cube the butter and put it in a food processor with both the flours and a small pinch of salt. Blitz to the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add 50ml ice cold water and blitz again to turn the mixture into dough. Turn the dough on to a cold, floured surface and knead lightly into a ball. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
  6. Peel and bash the garlic cloves. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil into a bowl, add the garlic, season with sea salt and black pepper, and set aside.
  7. Rinse the aubergine under running water and top and tail it. Cut lengthways into 5mm thick slices and brush with the aromatic oil.
  8. Heat a griddle pan and griddle the aubergine slices for a couple of minutes on each side. Place on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. You need to do this job in batches.
  9. Peel and thinly slice the onion. Warm the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a small frying pan, add the onion slices and a tablespoon of chopped thyme leaves, sprinkle with a little salt and cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes or until the onion has softened. Remove from the heat.
  10. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and then lay it into a greased 25cm loosely bottomed flan tin. Cover the pastry with baking parchment, fill with baking beans and bake blind for 20 minutes.
  11. Meanwhile, break the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly. Add the crème fraîche and a little salt and mix thoroughly.
  12. To assemble the tart, take the pastry case out of the oven and carefully remove the paper with the beans. Allow it to cool a little. Layer the pastry case with the cooked onions, then the griddled aubergines, and top with the roasted tomatoes and peppers. Pour the egg mixture over and scatter with the crumbled feta and the remaining thyme leaves.
  13. Return the tart to the oven and bake for another 25 minutes until set and golden in colour. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes

A delicious vegetarian feast of tangy feta cheese, sweet roasted peppers and tomatoes with griddled aubergines all in a crumbly shortcrust pastry case.

You can prepare all the vegetables several hours in advance and bake the pastry case blind. Then finish cooking the tart a little before serving.