Vegetable Tart With Phyllo Pastry Simply The Best

This creamy tangy combination with the eggs and cream and then poured into the veggies to bake in crispy golden brown phyllo pastry! Really? This is truly exceptional tasting food.

With Spring in the air this Vegetable Tart made with Phyllo Pastry and fresh seasonal vegetables looks perhaps time consuming but you can have it on the table in an hour. It's very easy and straightforward made with sautéed vegetables and the same egg ingredients as a crustless quiche. Yet still, it's a tart.

There must be something fulfilling in what you do every day otherwise what is life really? And naturally there those exquisite moments when you do something or are creating something that never fails to leave you in awe. That something for me is every time I work with phyllo pastry because at it's simplest form, it's also the most beautiful.

No matter how you fold it, or not, it will 'go with the flow' of it's own shape and you will undoubtedly be left in awe. Also because you did so little or perhaps nothing to achieve that!

In This Recipe:

• Intro
• How To Make This Vegetable Tart
• Phyllo Pastry Introduction
• Eggs and Cheese Mix
• Sautéing The Vegetables
• Vegetable Options
• Vegetable Tart Method
• Serving Vegetable Tart
• How To Use Phyllo Pastry
• Tips and Suggestions
• Full Recipe Card

How To Make This Vegetable Tart

Think about this vegetable tart in three parts;

• Phyllo Pastry

• Eggs and Cheese Mix

• Vegetables

STEP 1.

Phyllo Pastry

A heads up on the phyllo pastry

You should transfer the phyllo pastry from the freezer to the fridge the night before. If you forget, do it at least 2 hours before using it. It's Spring time now in South Africa so this also depends where you are so work with your temperatures. You can also see more under my tips and suggestions below this post on how to use this pastry.

Let's start making this vegetable tart;

STEP 2.

Eggs and Cheese Mix

When working with a liquid that need to be first mixed then poured my preference is a jug. Combine and pour Mix the egg ingredients and set aside.

Ingredients For The Egg Mix

Eggs and cream A lot more eggs than cream. The cream is more like a dash or dollop for that creamy richness we all love. Mix them in together using a fork, no overbeating the eggs.

Feta Cheese Break it up before adding it into the eggs. Yes you can add it and then use the fork to break it up but the less you fiddle with the eggs the better.

Cheddar or Gouda Cheese or any other cheese like Parmesan although also salty. Feta and cheddar is surprisingly so good! This creamy tangy combination with the eggs and cream and then poured into the veggies to bake in crispy golden brown phyllo pastry! Really? This is truly exceptional tasting food.

STEP 3

Vegetables

Roasted vegetables offer loads of flavor and are delicious but we are not roasting today. In an effort to keep the oven off, we are sautéing. Roast veg is great if you're serving it alongside a cut of meat. In this vegetable tart there are so many layers of flavor that the roasting element can become lost.

Broccoli, zucchini and green beans: This was a packet of mixed greens from Woolworths that comes all cut and ready to cook. The convenience is irresistible 🙂 See my suggestions below this post on other greens you can use.

Red bell pepper: Just to add that pop of gorgeous color.

Onion and garlic: As all good cooking starts.

Baby spinach: I always add my own homegrown spinach because that's what happens when you grow your own veggies you become obsessed! Use any spinach here, baby spinach cooks quicker.

This vegetable pie with phyllo pastry uses bright colorful vegetables but you can add an assortment of vegetables that work for you. Here are some ideas;

• Sweet potatoes
• Kale
• Carrots
• Swiss chard
• Rocket, basil, parsley (or a combination)
• Celery
• Melanzane (eggplant)
• Onions and fresh herbs

Vegetable Tart Method

A little patience in sautéing the vegetables goes a long way so get the stove on medium heat, pan on, oil in.....

Cook the onion: Fry the onions just until they have a shimmer to them. We are not caramelizing so a couple minutes is all they need. Follow through with the garlic, combine.

Add the vegetables: Add the veggies, veg seasoning and cook till slightly tender. We don't want to boil, stew or burn the veggies so medium heat is good. The vegetables should still have bite to them (not overcooked) and color.

Butter: Feel free to omit the butter while the veggies cook but the reason I add it to the vegetables and not in the beginning with the oil is because it helps build layers of flavor without losing any!

Method - Eggs and Cheese

While the vegetables cook you can add all the egg mix ingredients into a jug or bowl whisk them together and pour it over the veggies.

Finish with more cheese grated on top just before baking.

Serving This Crunchy Vegetable Tart

This vegetable pie is filling so no doubt you will feel satisfied after eating your portion of this without anything extra on the plate. However, you might be serving a large crowd or a crowd where some may not like any form of tart therefore, you want to have options.

Try any one of these dip recipes or a just a plain small bowl of plain Greek yogurt. You could also give a choice of a simple salad on the side, breads or sauces.

With meals like this vegetable pie or casseroles and curries it's always a good idea to have something light and refreshing on the side like this Homemade Salsa.

Tips and Suggestions

From my kitchen to yours, here are some tips that may help you when making this vegetable tart.

Let's start with the phyllo dough.

• You need one sheet of baking paper that's slightly larger than the baking tray you're going to use to give you room if needed to lift the tart. I don't have a clear enough photo for you but you can see the baking paper is under the phyllo pastry in the image below.

• Squash the paper up and wet it under the tap then spread it out onto a work surface. This is great way to not only protect the pastry from drying out but when you're done, you just lift the tart by the edges of the paper and transfer it into the tray! But wetting it first is a brilliant idea from the master himself Mr Jamie Oliver.

• Take your phyllo sheets and roll them out onto the wet baking paper. As you open one sheet drizzle some olive oil on each sheet, you can brush it on or you can gently rub it with your hands. This helps to prevent the pastry sheets from drying out.

• Dampen a kitchen tea towel to cover the remaining phyllo sheets so that they don't become brittle and break. If they dry out they crack and you no longer have a sheet you have bits of a sheet.

During this recipe, about 2 sheets broke which I worked into the layers so if that happens don't panic, simply use them to build up the layers.

Continue brushing each sheet with oil (you can also use melted butter) and spread them out over each other. I prefer to lay them down each in the opposite direction. You don't have to do that you can layer then all neatly together, I just prefer one up one down, each with oil, all piled over each other. Phyllo sheets are very thin so it's important to build layers and each layer should be flavored with butter or olive oil. Packing them up over each other in the opposite direction also helps give the tart a rustic character making it all the more interesting.

Some of the sheets you may not be able to open if they've become too dry, don't despair! Keep going. Try and open it but if it's not budging, spread some olive oil love and keep moving.

My last but the least tip from my kitchen to yours is on the baking time.

Baking: Bake for 45 minutes. Remove and allow to cool before moving onto a cooling rack where it will continue to cool and settle.

Cooling Time:  Remember that cutting into it Vegetable Tart before cooling will result in a watery uncooked filling. If for any reason (oven temperatures etc.) that happens, don't panic, simply return it to the oven for bake for another 5 minutes on 200 C / 392 F and then turn the oven off and leave it in there with the oven door slightly open. You will get a perfectly cooked not dry filling. It works every time!

Also, remember that when you pull the tart out the oven and the center is a little jiggly, it's okay because it continues to cook in the pan and the filling does eventually settle. 

If you try this Vegetable Tart With Phyllo Pastry please feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you take a photo of your dish and share it on Instagram, please tag me @anosmickitchen and use the hashtag #anosmickitchen because I love seeing your remakes! Happy cooking😀

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