Italian Easter tart
This savoury Easter tart is packed with greens and cheese and lovely whole eggs that appear as you slice it.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 400g/14oz large leaf spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 bunch fresh dill, finely choppedÌý
- 400g/14oz Swiss chard, finely choppedÌý
- 500g/1lb 2oz ricotta
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú parmesan, finely grated
- generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 lemon, zest onlyÌý
- freshly ground black pepper, to tasteÌý
- 5 free-range eggs
- 2 x 320g sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry until softened. Add the spinach, dill and chard to the pan and allow to wilt and soften. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 5 and grease a deep 20cm/8in cake tin with a little olive oil.
Mix the parmesan and ricotta together in a bowl and add the cooled vegetables, nutmeg, lemon zest and freshly grated black pepper, to taste. Crack one of the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly. Add this to the mixture, retaining a little to use as an egg wash.
Line the prepared cake tin with one sheet of puff pastry so that it overlaps the edges.
Make sure the filling mixture is completely cool before adding to the pastry lined cake tin. Using a spoon make four egg-sized wells in the filling and crack the eggs into each hole.
Cover with the remaining sheet of pastry lid sealing the edges and trim. Mark the pastry lid with a small cross where the eggs are and brush with the egg wash.
Bake for an hour, keeping an eye on the pastry. If the pastry becomes too brown, cover with foil.
To serve, allow to cool and slice where the cross is.
