(Serves 6 to 8)

Pastry:
200 g flour
100 g butter or lard, chilled
Pinch of salt
Iced water – see recipe

Put the flour in a bowl and cut in the fat, then lightly rubbing it in to resemble breadcrumbs. Don’t forget the salt, then add the water, a little at a time until the ingredients are just combined. Tough pastry will result if you add too much liquid.

A couple of tablespoons may be sufficient. Mix the ingredients and gather into a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Roll out, line a greased tart tin or quiche dish with the pastry, and bake blind for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 200°C, gas mark 6.

Filling:
750 g courgettes
1 tbsp salt
2 red peppers, roasted and skinned
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Few sprigs each of parsley, dill, chervil and basil, or tarragon
Gozo sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs, lightly beaten
150 g fresh gbejniet and
100 g hard ġbejniet, grated, or
200 ml milk
Extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of ground mace, or nutmeg

Trim the courgettes, and thinly slice four of them. Grate the rest, sprinkle with salt and let drain in a colander. Rub the skin from the roasted peppers, halve them and remove the seeds, and cut into thin strips. Put the onion and chopped herbs in a bowl. Add seasoning and the egg, cheese and milk. Mix thoroughly.

Rinse, and thoroughly dry the grated courgettes, and stir into the egg and cheese mixture with the red peppers.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pastry case, and bake at 180°C, gas mark 4 for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, and cover the tart with thin slices of courgettes. Brush with olive oil, and grind on some nutmeg, or sprinkle with mace. Bake for a further 10 minutes or so, until the filling has just set. Serve the tart hot, warm, or cold. You can also add shredded ham or pancetta to the filling.