Ingredients

Pastry (Or you use store-bought)

  • 300g flour
  • 50g + 120g unsalted butter
  • 1t salt
  • 1/4C ice water

Whipped Feta

  • 200g Feta
  • 1/4C Ricotta (or Greek yoghurt)
  • 1 Clove of Garlic, grated
  • 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
  • Zest and Juice of One Lemon
  • 1T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Filling

  • 4T Oven-dried tomatoes, chopped
  • 4T Whipped Feta
  • 2T Calamata Olives, chopped
  • 4t Olive Tapenade
  • 2T Milk for brushing pastry before baking (or 1 beaten egg)
  • 2T Poppy Seeds for topping

Method 

Pastry

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the 50g of cubed cold butter to the dry ingredients and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Then slowly drizzle in the ice water while blending until a dough just forms. Press the dough into a rough rectangle and wrap it in plastic wrap. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a large rectangle and grate half the 120g of butter over the dough. (Freezing the butter makes it easier to grate) Fold the top 3rd of the dough to the center line and then fold the bottom 3rd over the first fold. Roll the dough slightly to press the layers together and then wrap in plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes.

Repeat the process with the remaining butter and rest again for 30 minutes. Finally, roll the dough into a rectangle and repeat the folds without the addition of more butter and rest one more time. The dough is now ready to roll out and be used.

Whipped Feta

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth, light, and fluffy. Taste and adjust lemon, garlic, and olive oil to your liking.

Assembly

Roll the pastry to roughly 5mm thick and using a side plate cut two circles using a sharp knife. Place the first round on a lined baking sheet. Spread the whipped feta over the pastry, leaving a 10mm border around the edge of the circle. Top the whipped feta with the tapenade, diced olives, and oven-dried tomatoes. Place the second circle over the first and using a fork, crimp the two pastry layers together.

Place a small dip bowl in the center of the pastry circles and press down to create an indented circle. Using a sharp knife cut from the indent to the outer edge dividing the circle into 4 even pieces. Then, divide each quarter again and again to create 16 relatively even sections.

Brush the pastry with a beaten egg or milk and then coat liberally with poppy seeds. Take every second arm and twist it around one full rotation to create a twist. Then repeat the process with the remaining arms but twist them in the opposite direction to create alternating twists. This will result in a beautiful sun shape.

Place the tart in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes or until browned and flakey. Serve with the remaining whipped feta, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

Source: What’s Alicia Cooking