Delicious Vegetable & Ricotta Filo Tart
 
Prep time
Cook time
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A delicious, light summer meal, highlighting summer vegetables and a delicious ricotta mixture over layers of crispy filo pastry!
Author:
Recipe type: Vegetarian Tart
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • ½ packet Filo pastry (country style, or, #7. I used Fillo Factory Country Style for this recipe)
  • 2 medium zucchini (about 12 oz.)
  • 1 young leek (about 4 oz.)
  • 6 oz. thin asparagus, trimmed
  • ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • --- sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • ⅛ tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 2 cups Ricotta cheese, strained and at room temperature (this should be a good quality, full-fat Ricotta)
  • 5-6 oz. Greek Mizithra cheese, or, Greek Feta cheese, at room temperature, divided
  • 4 TBSP. Pecorino Romano cheese (or, Parmesan)
  • --- zest from one large lemon (about 2 tsp.)
  • 1 egg (optional; it is to loosen up the cheese mixture if is too thick)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  2. Place the package of the frozen filo dough in your refrigerator overnight to defrost. The next day, remove the thawed package of filo from the refrigerator and let it sit, still in the package, at room temperature, while you are prepping the vegetable filling.
  3. Wash, trim and prepare the vegetables.  Slice the zucchini and the leek into ½" slices, remove 2" from the end of the asparagus and cut the rest of the stalks into 2" long pieces.  Place them in a large pan, season them well with some salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and toss them with 3 TBSP. of the olive oil.
  4. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes, or, until the vegetables are soft and lightly brown.  Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.
  5. In a small bowl, mix the three cheeses together (reserving a little of the Feta for the top) with the lemon zest and set aside, while you work with the filo.
  6. Brush the bottom and the sides of an 8" x 12" (or, similar) baking dish with olive oil.
  7. Uncover the filo package and remove 5 sheets, if you are using the "country style" thicker filo, or, 7 sheets if you are using the thinner, #7 variety.  Keep the filo covered with a clean towel while you work so it does not dry out.  With a sharp knife (or a pizza cutter), cut through the stack of 5 (or 7) sheets of filo, so you have a 10" x 14” rectangle (your stack of filo should be about 2" bigger all around than the size of your pan).  Return the rest of the filo into the package and store in the refrigerator for another use.
  8. Place the first sheet of filo on a clean surface and brush it with some extra virgin olive oil.  Continue the same process with four more sheets of filo, placing each sheet on top of the previous one.  Lift the filo sheets and place them in the center of the baking dish, allowing some of the pastry to drape over the sides.  Fold the overlapping dough over the edges towards the center of the baking dish, scrunching the filo to create a small border; it does not have to be perfect.  Brush those edges lightly with some more of the olive oil.
  9. Prick the bottom of the filo stack with a fork and bake it in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or, until lightly brown.  Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly.
  10. Using an offset spatula, spread the Ricotta cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the baked filo shell.  Top it with the roasted vegetables, drizzle lightly with some extra olive oil and cook for some 15 more minutes.
  11. Remove the tart from the oven.  When cool, sprinkle some fresh thyme on top as a garnish and some of the reserved Feta. Cut into 6 squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe by Marilena's Kitchen at https://marilenaskitchen.com/delicious-vegetable-ricotta-filo-tart/