Roasted aubergine and smoked cheese tart

• 1 quantity of shortcrust pastry  
• 1 onion sliced thinly
• 1 aubergine
• 125g smoked low protein cheese
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 45g olive oil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Take the chilled short-crust low protein pastry and roll it out using a little Lopofin Mix to fit an 8-inch tart or pie plate. Then with a fork, dock the bottom of the pastry before chilling for 10 minutes.
2. Next, line the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans, baking at 180oc for 10 minutes before removing the baking paper and baking the pastry for another 5 minutes.
3. Fry the sliced onion in a small amount of the oil over med-low heat until soft.
4. Slice the aubergine lengthways, then slice each half into thin slices so they look like half-moons.
5. Place the aubergines on 2 baking trays and drizzle the rest of the oil and sprinkle over the smoked paprika before baking them at 180oc for 10 minutes until soft.
6. Once the onions and aubergines are cooled, grate the low protein cheese and place it in the bottom of the pie, topping with the cooked onions spread out evenly.
7. Next, lay the slice of cooked aubergines over the top of the onions, overlapping them around the pie, bake at 180℃ for 15 minutes until the pastry is baked.
8. Allow the pie to cool slightly in the dish before serving.

Chef tips

• You can add any cooked vegetables to this pie e.g. mushrooms, baby corn, courgettes, leeks.
• Add any low protein cheese works -smoked cheese works well with the aubergines.
• Sun-dried tomatoes*, char-grilled peppers work great in this pie too.
• This is an open-top pie but you can top with more pastry to make a complete pie or you can make smaller individual pies if you have small tart cases or use muffin trays.