Wednesday 12 September 2012

Silverbeet and Italian Deli Tart











I call this the Silverbeet and Italian Deli Tart because just about everything in it is sourced from our fabulous local Italian Deli. Whenever I walk into the Deli I get  "Market Syndrome", where I feel a compulsive urge to buy absolutely everything. It was bad enough when I just wanted everything I saw, but when they told me they have other delectables like handmade bresaola and scarmorza hidden in a secret hiding place for their "special customers" LIKE ME... well, I was done for.



Silverbeet and Italian Deli Tart
from Janelle Bloom's Family Food & Weekend Feasts

8 large silverbeet leaves, stalks removed
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 egg, lightly beaten
200g ricotta
1/2 cup semi-dried tomatoes, chopped
4 large sliced char-grilled eggplant, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
40g parmesan, finely grated
80g ghee, melted
8 sheets filo pastry

Wash, dry and shred the silverbeet leaves. Put them in a dry frying pan and fry on medium heat until they are wilted. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Stir the spring onions and egg into the warm sliverbeet and set aside to cool.

Crumble the ricotta over the silverbeet and add the tomatoes, eggplant, parsley and three-quarters of the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and mix until well combined.

Place a flat baking tray in the oven and preheat to 200 degrees C - fan-forced. Lightly grease a 23cm tart pan with ghee.

Place 1 sheet of filo on the workbench and brush with ghee. Top with a second sheet and repeat, so you have a stack of four sheets. Arrange in the tart pan, allowing the excess to overhang on both sides. Repeat with the remaining filo sheets and glee, turning the pan 180 degrees so the pastry completely covers the side and base of the pan.

Spoon the filling into the filo-lined pan. Trim the excess pastry so it sits 3cm above the filling, then roll the pastry down to meet the filling. Brush with melted ghee and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Place on the hot tray and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling set. Serve warm or cold with lemon wedges.

6 comments:

  1. Healthy, delicious, full of good things + looks great? Damn you got it :) Your tart is soooooooooooooo beautiful! The colours, the flavors...wow. I'm sure it was really good. I really like it!!!

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  2. Thanks Gabrielle. I think I left something on the shelves of the Italian Deli :)

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  3. It sure does look amazing! Hmm... another thing I have never eaten.. silverbeet! Maybe one day I will dare to give it a go, too. :)

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  4. Thanks Laura. Silverbeet is a lot like spinach, they can be substituted for each other. Silverbeet is less delicate than spinach, so it doesn't wilt-down is much when cooked and doesn't hold as much water as spinach. If you like spinach, I think you'd like it.

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  5. Again, what an amazing recipe and pictures!

    Haha, market sydrome is a really convenient term! :-) I suffer from that every time I go to vegetable market here. Just want to buy absolutely everything I see. :-)

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  6. Thanks Hippu. The markets are like the twilight zone for me. :)

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