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Feta-and-Herb Phyllo Tart
![Feta-and-Herb Phyllo Tart](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/05/10/dining/10BAKING1/10BAKING1-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- About 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 8sheets of thin 16-by-12-inch/40-by-30-centimeter phyllo pastry (about 200 grams)
- 3tablespoons/45 grams unsalted butter, melted
- 1scant cup/100 grams finely crumbled feta (3½ ounces/100 grams)
- 2lightly packed cups/50 grams finely grated pecorino Romano (1½ ounces/45 grams)
- 2tablespoons/5 grams roughly chopped parsley
- 2tablespoons/5 grams roughly chopped tarragon leaves
- 2tablespoons/5 grams roughly chopped mint leaves
- 4eggs
- ¾cup/180 milliliters heavy cream (double cream)
- ½cup/120 milliliters whole milk
- Salt and black pepper
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.
- Step 2
Brush one of the phyllo sheets lightly with melted butter and place, butter side-up, in a 9-inch/25-centimeter round tart pan. Press the pastry into the corners and then brush another sheet of phyllo in the same way, pressing it into the pan at a 45-degree angle to the first sheet. Continue twice more (using 4 sheets total), covering the base and sides of the pan with a uniformly thick layer of phyllo. Trim the overhanging pastry, but not completely, leaving ½-inch/1 centimeter of phyllo over the edges of the tart. Set both the pan and pastry scraps aside.
- Step 3
Take another sheet of phyllo (unbuttered this time) and position the long side in front of you. Fold the bottom edge up to form a fold 1 inch/3 centimeters wide. Continue folding the pastry in alternating directions (as if you were making a concertina fan) until you end up with 1 long pleated strip. Repeat with the remaining sheets of pastry in the same way. (If the pastry breaks or tears, pat it back into place and continue as if the torn pieces were still connected.)
- Step 4
Starting from the middle of the tart tin, coil 1 folded strip from the middle outwards to start forming a rough snail, spreading the strips roughly ¼ inch/½ to 1 centimeter apart. (You want visible gaps between the phyllo strips, so you can fill them with chunks of feta and the custard.) Meet the end of the pastry with the second strip and continue the snail in the same way until the 4 sheets have been used. You may still have some space around the edge, which you can fill with the scrap trimmings, folding them in the same way as best you can.
- Step 5
Brush the pastry carefully with remaining butter and set any pastry coils upright if they’ve fallen over. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the pastry is a dark golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 20 minutes.
- Step 6
Meanwhile, mix feta, pecorino and herbs until blended and set aside.
- Step 7
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream and milk with ½ teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper.
- Step 8
Gently press cheese and herbs in between the gaps of the phyllo pastry, being careful not to break the pastry base. Pour the custard over evenly, drizzling in just a little at a time and allowing it to soak evenly into all the gaps in the pastry. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until the custard has set and the cheese has browned. Remove from the oven and serve warm, cut into slices.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Since you emphasize the importance of using high quality phyllo, how do you identify which of the commercial brands is a good one?
A video of this folding technique would be very helpful.
What thickness of phyllo is required for this recipe: #4, #7 or #10?
Please let me know.
I wonder if we might have a video of Mr. Ottolenghi making this? The prep is sort of confusing.
No need to press the cheese/herb mix into the tart; simply use a small spoon and fill in all the spaces, repositioning the spiral as needed. I mixed the custard in a 2-cup spouted measuring cup which allowed gentle pouring over the cheese mix avoiding the spiral). Pour lightly. By the time you've gone over the tart one time, the custard will have soaked in wherever you started pouring; repeat pouring gently till all the custard is used.
This recipe cries out for a video... It has a lot of technique.
Great product. However, I found the cooking instructions for the phyllo too hot, too long. Burnt the first round. Dropped the temp to 375 F, about 12 minutes. Also, next time I make this, I will use 6 sheets for the base. Also, 1.5 ounces of Romano doesn't come close to 2 cups shredded. Baked off the custard @ 350 F. End product was greatly appreciated by my client- she asked for it again for Memorial Day week-end.
This might help in choosing the right brand of Phyllo; it seems there is't one best brand for every recipe.
http://www.saveur.com/article/Techniques/Phyllo-Finds?image=4
Thanks for the link! It appears that Kontos brand, number 5 phyllo is best for this type of recipe.
It's explained in "The Challenge of Perfect Phyllo," cited above, but that involves opening a box and testing a sheet for springiness. Can anyone tell us some actual good brands?
This recipe begs for a video demonstrating the construction of the tart shell.
I made this a week ago and am making it again. Technique is easier second time round and properly thawed phyllo makes a huge difference. I did butter the strips to make them easier to handle. Its a keeper recipe now that I feel it's easier to assemble!
I used frozen, defrosted in the fridge overnight. It worked perfectly, and the guests loved it.
One quick tip: you can easily "grate" both the cheeses in a mini food processor. Takes just a few seconds and gives you nice, tiny crumbles for slipping between the spirals of phyllo.
Quite tasty. Made in iron skillet. Took a while to make working with phyllo dough for the first time. I found spreading butter with my hand worked easier than with a brush. The bottom was crispy, I wouldn't add more layers.
I use the organic filo dough from The Filo Factory. it is sold in my local food coop in the freezer section. If I defrost it in the fridge overnight then let come to room temperature for 1-2 hours, it is easy to work with and doesn't shatter/break unless it gets too dry. I keep a damp dish towel/flour sack cloth over top of the filo to keep it from getting too dry but the recipe works pretty fast so I didn't have too much trouble.
Made with parsley, mint and dill as I had them to hand. Major hit with everyone.
Drawn in by the beautiful photo, I made this yesterday following the recipe closely, upping the melted butter by one tablespoon. It managed to look like the picture but we were disappointed with the taste. The internal folded phyllo fans add no flavor but plenty of dryness. A quiche would have tasted better.
Getting ready to make this. The ingredients call for "2 lightly packed cups/50 grams finely grated pecorino Romano (1½ ounces/45 grams)" I measured out my 50 grams and it is just 1/2 cup. HELP!
How many eggs?
It would be good to use a slightly damp tea towel to keep the stack of phyllo dough damp while you are working on the accordion folds and snail/swirl structure. Our tart looked more like a “rustic rose” than a perfect swirl but it was still really pretty.
The instructions are incomplete. What do you do with the overhang in the shell? Fold it over before first bake? It doesn’t say (so I did). Mostly the steps for the folded filo are very confusing; I’m a very experienced and competent home cook and a huge Ottolenghi fan (own 5 of his cookbooks) and have made tons of tarts in my day but I could not understand the fan fold at all and the filo kept breaking as it was getting dry (finally put on damp towel). I improvised. please explain!
some of us are visual learners .... please!
Spinach parsley feta and pecorino is the mix You can make the strips wider/make the tart deeper if you want And don’t forget you’re cute!!
This was a sensation for New Year's Eve. It was filling enough to feature as a brunch dish with a dark green salad. I anticipated, and rightly used only half the custard ingredients. It was showy, delicious and very popular!
I have made this a couple of times and, while challenging, produces a very attractive and tasty tart. One trick that I finally used is putting the mixed cheese/custard into either a pastry bag or a Ziploc. This makes it far easier to pipe the custard in between the phyllo spirals. Enjoy!
What size tart pan do you recommend?
Couldn't find phyllo in the supermarket so I used puff pastry instead and it was delicious! I also think the puff pastry made for quicker assembling.
Tried this today, the custard was too eggy, needs additional milk. Will try again, upping the ratio to be more quiche-esque, i.e. 2 cups liquid to 4 eggs, not 1 1/4 cups as listed.
This is so great. Have made many times so the construction is easy. It doesn’t matter if it’s perfect. It all cooks up great. Great leftovers too. I use whatever herbs are on hand.
I used frozen phyllo dough from Trader Joe's. It worked great! The other half of the box I used to make a half sheet pan worth of baklava using the recipe from Melissa Clark. Equally delicious and a great way to not have any leftover phyllo dough!
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