Picnic-perfect: Georgina Hayden's greek salad tart

The Guardian

5 days ago

Everything about this tart screams summer, from the cheery lines of sliced tomato to the ribbons of lemony cucumber. Eat a slice, shut your eyes and you will instantly be transported to the Aegean. Bake the tart ahead of time, because it's perfect served at room temperature. If I am taking it on a picnic, I like to tub up the cucumber ribbons separately, then squeeze over the lemon and crumble in the feta just before serving.
Prep 10 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 6-8
If you have any plant-based eaters in the mix, use a non-dairy puff pastry and omit the feta.
400g ripe vine tomatoes
Sea salt and black pepper500g puff pastry1 large egg, beaten1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced3 tbsp capers50g black olives, pitted and chopped1 tsp dried oregano
Olive oil
½ cucumber, trimmed½ lemon, juiced
75g feta
Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½ and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
Finely slice the tomatoes with a sharp knife, so they are less than 5mm thick. Put them in a large colander, toss with a half-teaspoon of sea salt, and leave in the sink.
Roll the puff pastry into a roughly 32cm × 25cm rectangle and score a border 2cm from the edge. Transfer to the lined baking sheet and brush the border with the beaten egg. Lay three or four rows of the sliced tomatoes inside the pastry border, and nestle in the slices of onion as you go. Scatter over the capers and chopped olives, sprinkle over half the dried oregano and drizzle with two tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the border is golden all over and nicely risen, then remove and leave to cool.
To make the topping, peel the cucumber into ribbons with a vegetable peeler and put in a bowl. Season generously, squeeze over the lemon juice, then sprinkle in the remaining half-teaspoon of dried oregano, crumble in the feta, add a tablespoon of olive oil and toss well. Scatter the cucumber mix over the top of the cooled tart just before serving.