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Your support makes all the difference.The French are the masters of tart making, and you often see tarts like this in French cookbooks. You could also incorporate different coloured peppers, or even replace the feta with goat's cheese. You can eat this tart hot or at room temperature. If you're having a family get-together, make it as one large tart and divide it up; or make smaller ones for a dinner party.
250g puff pastry, rolled to about 1/3cm
1 egg yolk
5 ripe tomatoes
6 thick skinned red peppers
140g sunblush or semi-dried tomatoes, drained and coarsely blended in a food processor
12-14 black olives stoned
200g good quality feta
2-3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
A few sprigs of bush basil or ordinary basil
Pre-heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Cut the pastry into a circle about 25-30cms diameter or into a rectangular shape and place on a baking tray. Score a line with the tip of a knife about 1cm from the edge all the way around and prick the inner pastry all over with a fork. Cut a piece of cardboard the same size as the interior pastry, wrap it in foil and place it on the pastry, leaving the pastry's edge exposed. Brush the edge with the egg yolk; bake for 12-15 minutes until the edge is golden.
Meanwhile, quarter the peppers, remove the seeds and place on a baking tray with the skin side up. Place under a hot grill for 8-10 minutes or until the skins are black, then place in a bowl and cover with clingfilm; this allows the skins to be removed easily. Bring a pan of water to the boil large enough for the tomatoes. Cut a criss-cross on the top of each tomato and remove the eye with the point of a knife. Have a bowl of cold water ready: plunge the tomatoes in the boiling water for 10-12 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into the cold water. The skin should easily peel away now, if not then give them a few more seconds in the boiling water. Quarter the tomatoes and squeeze out the seeds. Remove the skin from the peppers and cut each piece in half.
Remove the cardboard and spread the tomato paste over the centre of the pastry. Arrange the tomatoes and peppers up to the edge of the tart, then scatter over the olives. Season lightly and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake the tart for 8-10 minutes, then remove from the oven and place nuggets of the feta on the tart and drizzle with more olive oil and scatter with the basil.
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