Feta-and-Herb Phyllo Tart Recipe (2024)

Since you emphasize the importance of using high quality phyllo, how do you identify which of the commercial brands is a good one?

A video of this folding technique would be very helpful.

What thickness of phyllo is required for this recipe: #4, #7 or #10?
Please let me know.

I wonder if we might have a video of Mr. Ottolenghi making this? The prep is sort of confusing.

No need to press the cheese/herb mix into the tart; simply use a small spoon and fill in all the spaces, repositioning the spiral as needed. I mixed the custard in a 2-cup spouted measuring cup which allowed gentle pouring over the cheese mix avoiding the spiral). Pour lightly. By the time you've gone over the tart one time, the custard will have soaked in wherever you started pouring; repeat pouring gently till all the custard is used.

This recipe cries out for a video... It has a lot of technique.

Great product. However, I found the cooking instructions for the phyllo too hot, too long. Burnt the first round. Dropped the temp to 375 F, about 12 minutes. Also, next time I make this, I will use 6 sheets for the base. Also, 1.5 ounces of Romano doesn't come close to 2 cups shredded. Baked off the custard @ 350 F. End product was greatly appreciated by my client- she asked for it again for Memorial Day week-end.

This might help in choosing the right brand of Phyllo; it seems there is't one best brand for every recipe.
http://www.saveur.com/article/Techniques/Phyllo-Finds?image=4

Thanks for the link! It appears that Kontos brand, number 5 phyllo is best for this type of recipe.

It's explained in "The Challenge of Perfect Phyllo," cited above, but that involves opening a box and testing a sheet for springiness. Can anyone tell us some actual good brands?

This recipe begs for a video demonstrating the construction of the tart shell.

I made this a week ago and am making it again. Technique is easier second time round and properly thawed phyllo makes a huge difference. I did butter the strips to make them easier to handle. Its a keeper recipe now that I feel it's easier to assemble!

Quite tasty. Made in iron skillet. Took a while to make working with phyllo dough for the first time. I found spreading butter with my hand worked easier than with a brush. The bottom was crispy, I wouldn't add more layers.

I use the organic filo dough from The Filo Factory. it is sold in my local food coop in the freezer section. If I defrost it in the fridge overnight then let come to room temperature for 1-2 hours, it is easy to work with and doesn't shatter/break unless it gets too dry. I keep a damp dish towel/flour sack cloth over top of the filo to keep it from getting too dry but the recipe works pretty fast so I didn't have too much trouble.

Drawn in by the beautiful photo, I made this yesterday following the recipe closely, upping the melted butter by one tablespoon. It managed to look like the picture but we were disappointed with the taste. The internal folded phyllo fans add no flavor but plenty of dryness. A quiche would have tasted better.

Getting ready to make this. The ingredients call for "2 lightly packed cups/50 grams finely grated pecorino Romano (1½ ounces/45 grams)" I measured out my 50 grams and it is just 1/2 cup. HELP!

How many eggs?

It would be good to use a slightly damp tea towel to keep the stack of phyllo dough damp while you are working on the accordion folds and snail/swirl structure. Our tart looked more like a “rustic rose” than a perfect swirl but it was still really pretty.

The instructions are incomplete. What do you do with the overhang in the shell? Fold it over before first bake? It doesn’t say (so I did). Mostly the steps for the folded filo are very confusing; I’m a very experienced and competent home cook and a huge Ottolenghi fan (own 5 of his cookbooks) and have made tons of tarts in my day but I could not understand the fan fold at all and the filo kept breaking as it was getting dry (finally put on damp towel). I improvised. please explain!

some of us are visual learners .... please!

Spinach parsley feta and pecorino is the mixYou can make the strips wider/make the tart deeper if you wantAnd don’t forget you’re cute!!

This was a sensation for New Year's Eve. It was filling enough to feature as a brunch dish with a dark green salad. I anticipated, and rightly used only half the custard ingredients. It was showy, delicious and very popular!

I have made this a couple of times and, while challenging, produces a very attractive and tasty tart. One trick that I finally used is putting the mixed cheese/custard into either a pastry bag or a Ziploc. This makes it far easier to pipe the custard in between the phyllo spirals. Enjoy!

What size tart pan do you recommend?

Couldn't find phyllo in the supermarket so I used puff pastry instead and it was delicious! I also think the puff pastry made for quicker assembling.

Tried this today, the custard was too eggy, needs additional milk. Will try again, upping the ratio to be more quiche-esque, i.e. 2 cups liquid to 4 eggs, not 1 1/4 cups as listed.

This is so great. Have made many times so the construction is easy. It doesn’t matter if it’s perfect. It all cooks up great. Great leftovers too. I use whatever herbs are on hand.

I used frozen phyllo dough from Trader Joe's. It worked great! The other half of the box I used to make a half sheet pan worth of baklava using the recipe from Melissa Clark. Equally delicious and a great way to not have any leftover phyllo dough!

Agree with the other reviews that said the custard makes the base soggy and ruins any flakiness/ layers of the filo dough. Tastes fine but probably not worth the effort except for presentation.