Monday 24 January 2011

Easy Crustless Courgette, Mint and Feta Tart

Flavoured with mint, dill and lemon, this light, easy crustless tart is inspired by the sunny flavours of Greek cuisine.

Crustless Courgette, Mint and Feta Tart
Easy Crustless Courgette, Mint and Feta Tart
This recipe is easily doubled, and excellent served warm for brunch, with a leafy salad and a dollop of extra-garlicky tzatziki. If you'd like a bit of extra crunch, sprinkle the top of the tart with poppy seeds just before it goes into the oven.

If you're not mad about dill - my family has a disappointingly iffy attitude to it - leave it out, or add some finely chopped parsley. But don't omit the fresh mint, which adds a lovely sparkle to this dish.

Crustless Courgette, Mint and Feta Tart
The grated courgettes are quickly fried, until slightly wilted.

Here are three more courgette dishes you may enjoy:

Feta, Blue Cheese, Herb & Toasted-Walnut Pesto with Griddled Courgettes

Crispy Courgette 'Fritters' with a Gingery Lemon Dressing

Slow-Cooked Courgettes & Cherry Tomatoes with Melty Feta Wheels



Easy Crustless Courgette, Mint and Feta Tart

12 courgettes, topped and tailed
3 Tbsp (45 ml) butter
1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely grated
1 Tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
4 extra-large free-range eggs
½ cup (125 ml) natural yoghurt
½ cup (125 ml) cream
3 Tbsp (45ml) finely chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp (30 ml) finely chopped fresh dill
1½ cups (375 ml) crumbled feta cheese
the finely grated zest of half a lemon
1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
salt and milled black pepper, to taste

To top:
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
3 Tbsp (45 ml) finely grated Parmesan or 2 tsp (10 ml) poppy seeds [both optional]

Set the oven to 180 ºC. Grate the courgettes on the coarse side of a cheese grater. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan, add the courgettes and cook over a fairly high heat for 3-5 minutes, or until the courgette has wilted slightly and any liquid has evaporated. Stir in the garlic and lemon juice, cook for another minute, then tip into a large bowl and set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk together the eggs, yoghurt and cream. Pour this mixture over the courgettes, along with all the remaining filling ingredients. Stir well to combine. Tip the mixture into a well-greased ceramic or metal tart dish. Press the cherry-tomato halves into the filling, cut side up. Bake at 180 ºC for 30-40 minutes, or until slightly puffed and golden, and just set in the middle.

Serves 6

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8 comments:

Marisa said...

Love the tip about the poppy seeds & do hope you'll feel better soon!

Linda Harding said...

This sounds seriously yummy, especially for a brunch! Mmmmm. I received a big bag of organic baby marrows from Ethical Co-Op, so methinks this is a fab way to use them. Thanks and feel better soon!

Nina Timm said...

My family would most probably feel the same way as yours about the fennel, but I can see this tart in my very near future!!!

Mary Bergfeld said...

This is such a lovely tart. I love "crustless" recipes and this one is near perfect to my taste. I love the mint and have no problem with dill. Your tart may just have found a new home. I hope you have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

Adele said...

I got a large souffle dish for Christmas, and this looks like the perfect inaugural dish. Hope you feel better soon. Try some chocolate.

Jeanne @ CookSister! said...

Mmmm, I make a frittata with similar flavours (luckily hubby is enthusiastic about both mint AND dill!!) Delicious!

Bina said...

I love all your recipes and this is no exception. Do you measure by weight or by volume? I would like to try some of your cake recipes especailly the Almond Plum Cake!

Jane-Anne said...

Thanks my friends for your comments.

Bina, I tend to measure by volume because I reckon more people own a set of cup measures than own an electronic kitchen scale. Also, with cup/ml measures, there is less room for error. Hope that answers your question, and thank you very much for your kind comments.