Cherry Tomato and Haloumi Cheese Filo Tart
I always feel like a domestic goddess when making tarts, a pie, or anything with pastry really … it’s so decadent! Fillings with delicious flavour combinations is like a love potion to be shared only with friends and family! So ask yourself - what produce is in season? What meat works well with pastry? What sweet filling would you like in your next tart? Now, get your environmentally friendly shopping bags and head to the supermarket!
My tart features cherry tomatoes - a standout in the produce department of the supermarket this week. I’m the kind of cook that avoids using high quantities of cream, butter and fat - there’s just no need when healthy food tastes so delicious! This recipe is simple, light and healthy. Whisked eggs form the base of my filling, and the only dairy used is a handful of haloumi cheese to scatter on top. I use filo pastry because it isn’t packed with butter, and created a beautiful golden brown tart that was sweet and salty, with roasted cherry tomatoes and haloumi cheese.
I like to stress the significance of diet in relation to health. It is so important to take time to feed ourselves with food that nourishes and sustains our bodies. Our diets are the single most important factor when determining our health. The best way to establish a good diet is to follow the 5 a day rule - 3 portions of vegetables, and 2 of fruit.
It’s bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children’s health then the pediatrician – Meryl Streep
Ingredients
8 sheets filo pastry
¼ cup olive oil
2 punnets of colourful cherry tomatoes
5 fresh eggs
½ cup milk
5 sprigs of oregano
Pinch of cracked pepper
100g haloumi cheese, diced into small cubes
Extra olive oil to serve
A pinch of sea salt to serve
Method
Preheat oven to 150˚C fan-forced. Line a shallow baking dish with baking paper. Prick all the cherry tomatoes from one punnet and place them in the baking tray, then in the preheated oven to roast for one and a half hours. Set them aside on a bench to cool and turn the oven up to 180˚C fan- forced.
Get out a 30 cm tart shell and make sure your filo pastry is at room temperature. With a pastry brush, brush the tart shell with a thin coat of olive oil. Place the first sheet of pastry over the tart shell and use your fingers to press the pastry into the tart shell. Paint the pastry with another thin coat of olive oil and place another sheet of filo pastry over the tart shell in the other direction, pressing into the shell with your fingers. Paint with a thin coat of olive oil and repeat this process with the remaining 6 sheets of filo pastry. Trim the edges and place the pastry-lined shell in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp slightly. There’s no need to use baking beans. When lightly cooked, set aside.
In a mixing bowl whisk the eggs and stir in the milk. Add your roasted cherry tomatoes and the leaves from 4 sprigs of oregano. Stir to combine and season with a pinch of cracked pepper – don’t add salt. Pour this egg mixture into the filo pastry tart shell. Scatter the small cubes of haloumi cheese over the egg mixture (this will add saltiness). Place the tart into the oven for 30 to 35 minutes depending on your oven. The tart should be golden brown and bubbling. If the tart filling is rising in the oven, don’t worry it will sink when you pull it out. Set it aside to cool slightly.
While it is cooling chop up the second punnet of cherry tomatoes and tear the leaves from the final sprig of oregano, ready for serving. To serve, top the tart with the fresh cherry tomatoes and remaining oregano leaves. Drizzle with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.
