RUSTIC CHERRY TOMATO AND WHIPPED FETA TART

Makes: 1 tart

Preparation/Chilling time: 2.5 hours

Baking time: 50 minutes

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Made with homemade buttery shortcrust pastry, this is a tart for a special lunch or light supper. Unfortunately, I fall for the trap of buying two packs of cherry tomatoes for the price of one and then am left with thinking up different ways to prepare these sweet, sharp jewels instead of throwing them into a salad. These cherry tomatoes are roasted with cumin, coriander and fennel seeds, chilli flakes and garlic and adorn the pastry smeared with a creamy, salty whipped feta spread.

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Ingredients

For the flakey pastry

140g Butter, chilled

200g Flour

1 Tbs sugar

1/2 tsp salt

For the roasted tomatoes

600g Cherry tomatoes, halved

1 onion, roughly sliced

5 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly sliced

2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

Salt and pepper

For the whipped feta

200g feta cheese

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper

Method

For the flakey pastry dough

1. Keep one cup of water in the fridge to cool.

2. Take half the butter and cut into thin squares and keep in the fridge to cool.

3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Cut the remaining butter into cubes and rub into the flour until the butter is the size of a lentil.

4. Add the remaining chilled butter to the flour mixture and flatten with your fingers until you have a coarse, yellow mixture, with small and large pieces of butter.

5. Add approximately five tablespoons of the ice water to the mixture. Using a fork, mix and then, using your hands, knead gently to bring the dough together. Do not overwork the dough.

6. Transfer the dough that has come together to a piece of cling wrap. Add a teaspoon of ice water to the remaining crumbly pieces of flour and butter and bring the dough together. Add this to the dough and enclose it with cling wrap.

7. Pat the dough into a 2cm thick circle and flatten with the palm of your hand.

8. Keep in the fridge for 2 hours.

For the roasted tomatoes

1. In a roasting tray, combine cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic, dried oregano, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, red chilli flakes, salt and pepper to taste and extra-virgin olive oil.

2. Roast in an oven preheated to 180°C for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the whipped feta

1. In a food processor, blitz together the feta, mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste. Next, stir in the dried oregano. Store in the fridge until assembly of the tart.

Baking and assembly of the tart

1. Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and allow it to soften slightly-- around 5 minutes. Then, sandwiched between two sheets of baking paper, roll out the pastry to a rough circle, 3mm in thickness. If the pastry becomes too sticky, refrigerate for 10 minutes. Transfer to a baking tray and bake the pastry in an oven preheated to 180°C for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

2. Once cool, smear the whipped feta, leaving a thin border. Spoon over the roasted tomatoes.

3. Drizzle with olive oil.