Nettle and greens tart with cheddar pastry

This vegetarian tart folds cheddar through the dough for a rich, cheesy and flaky crust. The filling combines nettles and silverbeet for a earthy greens tart that can include any of your favourite green vegetables (you could try roasted chunks of carrot or beetroot, too!). This recipe comes from Aaron Ward.

• serves

  4

• prep

  25 hours

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Series. Cooking. Rated PG.

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The Cook Up with Adam Liaw

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Ingredients

• 50 ml olive oil
• ½ brown onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 125 g nettles, washed, leaves picked, destemmed, blanched (see Note)
• 1 bunch cavolo nero, destemmed, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch silverbeet, destemmed, thinly sliced
• 125 g baby spinach leaves
• 1 bunch broccolini, trimmed, blanched, roughly chopped
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 lemon, finely zested, plus lemon wedges to serve
• 100 g ricotta cheese
• 1 egg, lightly whisked

For the pastry

• 300 g plain flour
• 200 g butter, chilled, diced
• Sea salt flakes
• 100 g aged cheddar cheese, finely grated
• Chilled water

Chilling time: 30 minutes

Instructions

1. To make the pastry, in a food processor bowl, combine the flour, butter and a generous pinch of sea salt flakes. Process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs, then transfer to a large mixing bowl and fold through the cheese. Gradually add enough chilled water until the mixture forms a dough. Flatten into a circle, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 180˚C (fan-forced). To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring until translucent. Add the nettles, cavolo nero and silverbeet and cook until wilted. Remove from the heat and fold through the baby spinach and chopped broccolini. Season with salt, pepper and lemon zest. Allow to cool. 
3. Roll the pastry out to a 4 mm-thick circle. Spoon the prepared filling into the centre of the pastry, spreading to about 5 cm from the edge of the pastry, folding the edges over to form a round tart. Use a spoon to place small piles of the ricotta cheese over the top of the filling. Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg, then transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and cooked through.
4. Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, then serve with lemon wedges.

Note

Nettles are at their best and most tender in late winter and spring. You'll need to gloves when handling to avoid the sting, but they are well worth the effort! Wearing gloves, wash nettles, pick leaves, place in a saucepan of boiling water for 1-2 minutes stirring occasionally with tongs to ensure all leaves are submerged. Remove from water and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water. Drain and squeeze to remove excess liquid.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.