Potato, Fennel, Olive and Lemon Tart

People talk a lot about comfort food, i.e. what makes them happy and contented, well for me this tart is one of those dishes. When I made it recently M and I almost ate the whole tart in one sitting, it was so tasty, tasty, tasty! If you do not like the flavour of  fennel it would still work with finely sliced leeks or onion. (I use my magic Swiss mandolin for slicing all the vegetables). But I think these flavours work well together and apart from the fresh fennel which can be pricey at the beginning or end of the season, it is an inexpensive lunch dish or a lovely starter for dinner (made into smaller square tarts) or carefully sliced into small squares for pre-dinner drinks. I love that I can use some of my preserved lemons too. This dish is just perfect for vegetarians. 
Potato, fennel, feta, olive and lemon tart - Chef: Lauraine Jacobs as heard on Nine to Noon Monday, 10 November 2008

Ingredients  
500g puff pastry
3 large Agria potatoes
1 egg, beaten
3 fennel bulbs, sliced paper thin
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
150 g crumbly feta cheese
½ cup olives, preferably stones removed
1 preserved lemon, flesh removed and rind cut into small dice
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
Fresh Italian parsley, stalks removed

Method

Roll out the pastry to fit a 30cm x 40cm oven tray. Allow the pastry to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

Meanwhile peel the potatoes, cut into 1.5 cm slices and simmer in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain well and cool.

Beat the egg and brush over the surface of the pastry. Spread the potato slices over the egg, and if there’s any extra egg, brush the potatoes with this.

Layer the fennel on top of the potatoes and scatter the seeds over. Crumble the cheese over the fennel next, and then dot the top with chopped olives and diced preserved lemon. Season with pepper and salt.

Place in the hot oven and turn the heat up an extra 10°C so the pastry really starts to cook. When the pastry is puffed and golden brown on the edges and underside (should take about 20 minutes, but this will depend on your oven) remove the tart from the oven. Scatter over the parsley leaves and cut into generous wedges to serve.

Serves 6 as a meal with salad