Brown Rice & Caramelised Shallot Tart
My favourite recipes are the ones that look a whole lot fancier and more complicated than they are. This is one of those. Nutty brown rice, sweetly caramelised shallots and crumbled feta wrapped up in flaky Filo pastry this is a great dish for your next pot luck dinner party, and it tastes even better the next day!
Brown Rice & Caramelised Shallot Tart
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
400g shallots (about 15-16 shallots)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 cup brown rice
2 tsp dashi stock
4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
200g danish feta, crumbled
2 eggs, whisked
1/2 cup olive oil (to brush the Filo pastry - you might not need all of it)
10 sheets filo pastry
A pastry brush
Fresh thyme or marjoram (to serve)
Method
Preheat the oven to 200˚C. If you’re using frozen Filo pastry, pop it on the bench to defrost.
Cut off the top and bottom ends of the shallots but leave the outer skin on. Toss with the olive oil, salt, brown sugar and red wine vinegar, then place on an oven tray and roast for 20 minutes.
While the shallots roast, put the rice in a saucepan with 8 cups of water. Bring to the boil and then simmer until the rice is cooked through but not mushy (about 25 minutes). Drain the rice and place it in a large bowl with the dashi stock and diced garlic.
Once the shallots have finished roasting, squeeze the soft inner layers from their outer shells. Discard the outer shells and add the cooked shallots (and the oil from the baking tray) to the rice along with the feta (roughly crumbled) and eggs. Mix well to combine (it’s ok to leave some bigger chunks of feta in the mix).
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and brush with a little olive oil. Lay a sheet of Filo pastry on top of the parchment paper. Brush lightly with olive oil then add another sheet on top. Repeat this for five layers.
If your Filo pastry is rectangular, lay your sixth sheet of pastry at 90˚ to the first five (forming a cross). Lay four more sheets on top of the first, brushing with olive oil between each sheet.
Spoon th brown rice filling in the centre of the Filo pastry cross, then wrap/scrunch it up with the overhanging edges of the Filo pastry (you can paint the layers of Filo pastry with extra olive oil as you scrunch them up too). The rice should be held inside the pastry shell (see photo).
Bake the tart in the oven at 200˚C for 30 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Garnish with fresh herbs (I like marjoram or thyme) and serve at once.
