Tuna, leek & cottage cheese filo tart

 



I regularly have days when I can't get down to the supermarket. It's always a great excuse to see what I have lurking in the cupboard & fridge. It all started with half a packet of filo that I had in the fridge. Ok I'll make a tart base with that then. Now what else, a tub of cottage cheese, some eggs, a leek, half a red pepper, a corner of parmesan cheese and of course a large can of tuna from the cupboard. I'm sure you could vary this recipe to suit what you have in.

You'll need 9½" 24cm loose bottom tart/quiche tin brushed well with olive oil

4 sheets of filo pastry
a little olive oil for brushing
1 large leek dark & outer leaves removed then finely sliced
½ medium sized red pepper diced
1 stick of celery finely diced
1 clove of garlic crushed
1 heaped tbsp flour
half a pint of milk (you may not need all of this)
8oz can of tuna in oil (it's so much tastier than when in brine)  *reserve 1tbsp of the oil*
4oz tub of cottage cheese
2 eggs hard boiled and chopped
1 tsp capers chopped
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
grating of nutmeg
a pinch of cayenne pepper
about 1tbsp chopped chives
around 1oz of parmesan cheese finely grated (this is to finish the dish)
Heat the oven to 200c /400f/ gas 6
Place an oven tray inside the oven to heat up. You'll be baking the tart on top on this


Line the  tart tin with the filo, brushing between each layer with a little olive oil, and folding in the overlap to form a 'crust' around the edge of the tin
Bake for around 10/15 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and the base cooked through.

Meanwhile make the filling.

Sweat the leek, celery & red pepper in 1tbsp of the reserved oil from the can of tuna until soft
add the garlic and cook for another minute or two
Add the flour stir in well and let it cook for a minute
Gradually add enough milk to form a thick sauce ( you may not need to use all the milk)
Gently cook on for a few minutes so that the flour will be cooked out
Remove from the heat.
Stir in the flaked tuna, cottage cheese, capers, nutmeg, cayenne and gently stir in the hard-boiled eggs & half the chives
Check the seasoning
Fill the tart case sprinkle over the parmesan and bake in a reduced oven 160c/325f/gas 3 for around 20-25 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown and the filling firmish the the touch

Leave to cool before cutting. Sprinkle over the remaining chives.

This is best served at room temperature and it's great cold for a picnic or lunchbox. Serve it with a simple salad. Mine was just watercress & cherry tomato