I know that these bright orange tartlets might not look like the most appetising things, but let me tell you, they are, as they contain two of my favourite ingredients – harissa and tomatoes. I first made my own harissa when I made these pumpkin tarts some time ago, and it’s been a staple in our house ever since, and has become lovingly known as magic sauce, due to it’s versatility. I use it on anything and everything I can think of, and let me tell you it’s amazingly versatile. So much so I always have a jar of it in the fridge ready to spice up whatever I might be cooking.

Before I made these tartlets I played around with a few different combinations of tomatoes and various ingredients but nothing really excited me enough to share with you, that is until I tried this harissa and tomato combination. And they are delicious.

To make the tarts a little easier on the waist line I’ve substituted the cream that you would normally find in a savoury tart recipe for low fat Greek yoghurt, and it works brilliantly. Add to that a small amount of crumbly salty feta at the bottom, topped with juicy slices of tomato and you have one delicious tart. Serve it with your favourite salad on the side – I like to serve them with lemon potato salad and a crunchy cucumber salad.

So tell me, what ingredient is a magic ingredient in your house?

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5.0 from 4 reviews

Harissa, Feta and Tomato Tartlets

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Makes 8 mini tartlets or 1 large tart. You’ll find the Harissa recipe here

Author: Delicieux

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• PASTRY
• 250g of plain (all purpose) flour
• 180g of cold butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbs of chilled water
• FILLING:
• 3 tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 75g of Danish feta, crumbled
• 1 heaped tbs of homemade Harissa (recipe link above)
• 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup of Greek yoghurt
• 50ml of milk
• 3 tsp of thyme leaves, pick
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Begin by making the pastry. Place the flour and butter in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the egg yolk and water and pulse until the mixture begins to come together to form a ball. Remove from the food processor and place onto plastic wrap and shape into a disc. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and roll out the pastry on a lightly floured bench or silicone baking mat until approximately 5mm thick. Line a 8 small loose bottomed tart tin with the pastry, making sure to press into the sides, and trim the excess. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 celsius (355 Fahrenheit) and line the tart with baking paper and fill with baking weights or beans. Bake for 10 minutes before removing the baking paper and weights and baking for a further 5 minutes or until the base is lightly golden. Set aside to cool.
4. In a bowl add the eggs and egg yolk along with the yoghurt and milk and whisk to combine. Add the harissa and season to taste.
5. Crumble the feta into the bottom of each tart and top with tomato slices, layering each slice in a circular pattern (about 4 or 5 slices, depending on the size of your tomatoes). Pour the egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the filling is just set.

Notes

• If you don’t feel up to making your own pastry use store bought frozen pastry such as a Careme.
• If using a store bought Harissa you might need to adjust the quantity of Harissa used. Start with 2 tsp and adjust as necessary.
• Danish feta is a creamy style of feta, which I prefer, but feel free to use whichever feta you have on hand or prefer.

3.1.09