What do you do with a bunch of asparagus, some artichoke hearts, a handful of fava beans, a leek and a few cherry tomatoes? You make a tart of course!
I always buy a pound or two of ricotta every week and I like to keep a box of phyllo dough handy at all times, it’s amazing what you can do with it, it’s so easy and forgiving to work with, and besides, I love the crunch factor it gives!
The ricotta cheese is pumped up and flavored with a hint of garlic, fresh basil, grated romano, asiago and fontina cheeses and an egg which makes for a creamy and very flavorful filling to have on top of the crunchy phyllo.
Press your pre-roasted vegetables right into the ricotta mixture and bake until the phyllo reaches a rich golden brown and the ricotta sets up.
All you’ll need is a salad on the side and your spring meal is complete!
This is the salad I served with my tart, a combination of tomatoes, avocado and olives on a bed of arugula with a lemon and olive oil dressing.
Dig in, you won’t even miss the meat!
- I used an 11½" x 7½" rectangle tart pan with removable bottom so the recipe will reflect that size pan, but feel free to adjust the recipe if using a 9 or 10 inch round tart pan instead.
- 4 cups of ricotta, drained
- 2 eggs
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- handfull of chopped fresh basil
- ½ cup of grated romano cheese
- ½ cup of grated fontina
- ½ cup of grated asiago
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 sheets of phyllo dough
- olive oil, preferably in spray form
- 1 bunch of asparagus, cut in half diagonally
- a large leek, cleaned thoroughly and sliced into rounds
- ½ cup cooked and shelled fava beans or replace with peas
- 1 heaping cup or so of artichoke hearts
- 1 cup or so cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- Pre-roast all veggies except the tomatoes, if using fava beans have them preboiled with skins off, if using peas instead, frozen and defrosted is fine.
- In a bowl whip the romano, asiago, fontina along with the basil, garlic and eggs into the ricotta until well incorporated.
- Layer each sheet of phyllo one by one into your olive oil greased tart pan fitting it in around the bottom and sides and spraying or brushing each sheet with olive oil as you go, if it rips don't worry it will look fine in the end.
- When finished layering each sheet spread the ricotta mixture all over.
- Press your veggies all around into the ricotta.
- Drizzle the top of the tart and sides of dough with olive oil, sprinkle with romano and bake.
- Bake in a 400 F. oven, keep checking after 15 minutes, make sure the crust is deep golden and ricotta is set.
- Let it cool down before you cut into it.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
