Herbed Mushroom and Feta Tart

This tart came up because I had leftover pastry, feta, cheddar and egg mixture from making spinach & feta quiche for a bake sale :) Had this tart in mind already when I was out at the bake sale and bought some white button mushrooms.

So, the measurement of ingredients is approximate but I feel cooking should be fun and flexible to a certain extent. As some of you know, I improvise as I go along ~ as long as taste is good, it does not matter if you cut some corners. Simplicity is an art.

Seriously, if you have ready made pastry in your freezer and your favourite cheese (not the processed slices though), it's easy to make a quick lunch in the form of a tart.

Herbed Mushroom and Feta Tart
(11in x 7in tart pan or baking dish)

Ingredients

2 pcs ready made short crust pastry (25cmx25cm)
300gms white button mushroom (sliced thinly)
1 shallot (finely chopped)
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 cup milk or cream
2 small eggs or 1 large egg
80 gms feta (I usually use Lemnos but we now have Apetina in Tetrapak of 200gm also)
50 gms grated sharp cheddar
1 - 1.5 tsp Italian herbs (fresh is better but dry works too)
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

1. Heat oven to 200 deg C. Roll out pastry and line a greased baking tin or tart pan with the dough. Prick dough with fork at 2 cm intervals. Bake for about 10-15 mins (light golden colour). Remove from oven and allow to cool. Reduce oven temp to 175 deg C.

2. Heat olive oil in a pan. Fry shallot and garlic till aromatic but not browned. Toss in sliced mushrooms and saute till liquid evaporates. Let cool.

3. Sprinkle half of the grated cheddar evenly on top of the baked pastry.

4. Distribute sauteed sliced mushroom on top of the cheddar and season evenly with black pepper and Italian herbs.

5. Crumble feta (big or small crumbs, up to you) evenly on top of mushrooms. Whisk egg and cream/milk with black pepper and salt (if you find that you like the tart a bit more salty despite the feta). Pour egg mixture onto the mushroom/feta layers.

6. Top with remaining grated cheddar and bake for 35 mins or until brown.

Enjoy it warm with a fresh salad.