Nora Widmer, a dear friend from Switzerland, gave me this recipe, when we were both living in India.   It has changed considerably over the years, as recipes do, mainly through using a variety of cheeses and a different pastry for the tart shell.   Here it is:

                            NORA’S COURGETTE AND CHEESE TART

Pastry:

150 g (5 oz) butter, at room temperature

90 g (3 oz) feta cheese, grated

60 g (2 oz) Parmesan grated

195g (6½ oz) or more, self-raising flour

Some extra butter for the tart dish

Filling:

150 g (5 oz) bland kasseri or Emmenthal, coarsely grated

150 g (5 oz) Gruyere, coarsely grated

4 tbsp Parmesan, finely grated

2 slices smoked ham, finely chopped (optional)

1-2 medium courgettes, coarsely grated

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1 tbsp dill, finely chopped

4 eggs, separated, whites whipped with a little salt to the soft peak stage

240 ml (1 cup) cream and milk, mixed in equal quantities

Freshly ground pepper

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

          For the pastry, mix all the ingredients together until the dough just comes together. If the dough seems too soft to handle, sprinkle it with a little flour, cover and refrigerate it for not more than 30 minutes.   Then give the dough a flat, round shape and place it a buttered tart tin, gently pressing it into the bottom and around the sides of the tin, and trim it neatly.   Refrigerate for 15 minutes.   Cover the shell with baking parchment and beans and bake blind, in an oven preheated to 190C (375F) for about 12 minutes.   Remove the parchment and beans, prick the pastry with a fork, if puffed, and return it to the oven for 7-10 minutes more.   Remove from the oven and let it cool before using.

          Meanwhile, mix the cheeses with the ham, if using, and spread them evenly over the pastry shell.   Sprinkle the surface sparsely with the grated courgettes, spring onions and dill.  Mix the egg yolks with the cream/milk mixture well together and season with freshly ground pepper and nutmeg.  Then gently fold in the whipped egg whites and pour evenly over the cheese.   Bake the tart for 35-40 minutes in a moderate oven preheated to 190 C (375 F) or until the filling has puffed and browned.

(Serves 6-8)