Grilled aubergine and Feta Tart

Summer is the season for quick and easy meals, where nature is at its apex with an abundance of beautiful summer fruit and vegetables.

Tarts are a way of exhibiting lush and ripe produce. Strawberry tart, key lime tart and apple tart are revered for being scrummy, rich in flavour and satisfying to the sweet-toothed. But, for the savoury toothed like myself, I must give my allegiance to delicious savoury tarts as they give me just as much satisfaction and joy. If you don’t have time to prepare the shortcrust pastry, you can always use store-bought shortcrust dough or puff pastry.

Tarts make the perfect picnic food, the perfect light lunch with friends and family and the perfect quick and light dinner with a side of salad.

This dish is so versatile with its endless possible combinations of ingredients. You can combine Brie and tomatoes, caramelized onion and goat cheese, tomato and mozzarella, spinach and feta, gorgonzola and leeks, cheddar and onions and many more; let your palate be your drive.

Servings: 1 tart 20 cm in diameter

Time to prepare: 1 Hour

Time to bake: 30 minutes

Note: the savoury shortcrust recipe produces 3 tart shells 20cm width each

Ingredients:

1 recipe savoury shortcrust

2 eggs

200 ml low-fat milk

1 aubergine

1 white onion

8 sunblush tomatoes chopped

40 grams feta cheese

Pinch salt

A handful of chopped parsley

Method:

· Preheat the oven to 180C on the fan setting.

· Slice the Aubergine and onions in rings and place on a baking tray and grill according to this Aubergine maqloubeh recipe.

· Prepare the savoury shortcrust recipe and remove it from the fridge 20 minutes before using it.

· Roll the dough to a ½ cm thickness, then carefully place it on a 20 cm diameter tart tin, pressing on the base and sides gently to get rid of any air gaps.

· Cut off any excess hanging pastry.

· Prick the base with a fork.

· Lay the grilled Aubergine followed by the onions, sun blush tomato and crumble the feta.

· In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and parsley.

· Pour over the vegetables.

· Bake in the oven on the middle shelf for 30 minutes or until the centre comes out clean when pierced with a toothpick. Serve warm.

Tips:

· Pricking the base of the pastry keeps it from forming a bubble that will cause an uneven surface.

· You can use any combination of herbs, vegetables or cheese.

· Any non-dairy milk can be substituted, such as almond milk.

· Freeze leftover tart dough.

Per Serving without the crust: 579 Calories; 24g Fat (35.8% calories from fat); 34g Protein; 63g Carbohydrate; 16g Dietary Fiber; 475mg Cholesterol; 1209mg Sodium.