Zucchini and Pecorino tart

A savoury tart or quiche is ideal for summer – light but crammed with flavour. Vicki Sleet reports on the Queen of Tarts...

"Real men may not eat quiche but everybody loves a tart", says Tina Bester, the owner of Observatory food stop Queen of Tarts where sweet and savoury tarts in their dozens are guzzled with glee.

< p> Strictly speaking a quiche is a tart. According to Larousse Gastronomique, flans, quiches, pissaladieres, flamiches and goyeres all fall into the tart category. The quiche moniker is derived from the German kuchen (cake) but gained its popularity in the Lorraine district of France, and it is now considered a French cuisine classic.

Whichever way you look at it and whatever you decide to call it, this open baked pastry case with its cream-based filling and seasonal ingredient combinations can be the making of a mouthwatering meal.

Served as a starter with a generous topping of watercress or rocket leaves, individual savoury tarts are a sure-fire bet. Filled with potato, cream and bacon, they're ideal for mopping up a hangover, and crammed with oven-roasted tomatoes and gorgonzola, they add colour and oomph to a cake-laden tea table. Come summer, the plethora of light and lovely seasonal vegetables like asparagus and zucchini need no excuse for marrying with a strong cheddar or fragrant goats cheese.

The secret is to use cream not milk in your filling, says Bester, whose own rustic-style tarts are characterised by their delightfully wonky pastry casing (I hate things to be too pretty and perfect) and a rich filling that reveals layers of flavours with each moreish bite. Team yours with a crisp Chardonnay or icy rosè and summer lunch is a cinch.

Bester's recipe for zucchini and pecorino individual savoury tarts is dead easy and if you can't be bothered to do all the work yourself contact her and she'll bake them for you.

(Makes 6 tarts)
1 roll store-bought puff pastry
10 zuchini
Pecorino cheese
375ml cream
2 eggs
Salt and pepper

Roll out the pastry to about 3-4mm thick,
cut out rounds and place them in
individual greased tart tins.
Mix up the cream and eggs and season.
Using a vegetable peeler, make zucchini ribbons
and pecorino shavings.
Place a generous amount of pecorino in the bottom
of each tart, top with zucchini ribbons
(using about 3/4 of them as you will need to top up
half way through cooking)
and carefully fill each tart with the egg and cream mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes at 180°C
and then top each tart with the remaining zucchini
as it will have shrunk down.
Cook for a further 25 minutes until golden brown.

WINE RECOMMENDATION:

Some acid is needed to cut through the creamy cheese mixture.
We recommend Zonnebloem's Limited Edition Sauvignon Blanc 2007,
approximate retail price R60.

Queen of Tarts, 213 Lower Main Road,
Observatory, Cape Town.
Tel: 021 448 2460