Filo Pastry, Haloumi and Spring Vegetable Tarts
Photography Manja Wachsmuth.
These can be made as six individual tarts, but I love the look of a whole tray. You can use other vegetables and also top each one with a stem-on cherry tomato before cooking.
INGREDIENTS
150 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, crushed
250 grams cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
2 x #7 eggs (large)
3 tablespoons purchased basil pesto
3 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
6 spears asparagus, sliced on the diagonal
80 grams haloumi cheese
sea salt and ground pepper
6 sheets filo pastry
olive oil spray
28cm x 18cm metal baking dish, greased and lined fully with baking paper
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan bake.
Beat the cream cheese, cumin and garlic until light and airy. Season with salt and pepper then beat in the cottage cheese, eggs and pesto. The mixture will not be smooth.
Spray one sheet of filo with oil then place another sheet on top. Repeat spraying and layering with the remaining 4 sheets. Cut into 6 even rectangles. Fold in a 2cm border around each rectangle then place in the tin, unfolding the sides and nestling them into the tin, side by side. Spoon the cheese mixture into the tarts.
Top with the zucchini and asparagus then grate the haloumi over the top of each one, along with a grind of pepper.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling is set. Serve hot or warm. Makes 6 tarts
Keep up to date with
dish weekly recipes,
food news, and events.
Related Content
latest issue:
127
In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.