A savoury cheesecake? Yes please! Spring is the perfect season for light lunches like quiche and salad. This is a chunky savoury tart with all the delicious elements of a proper South African “souttert”, mixed with the creaminess of a traditional cheesecake and the convenience of a simple, rustic, eggy quiche. Substitute the snoek with smoked salmon or trout for a delicately coral alternative, or use cooked smoked haddock.

I used Fairview Cream Cheese with Black Pepper, which gives this delicious tart a rich, warm flavour.

Savoury Cheesecake:

Ingredients:

• 1 x packet store-bought shortcrust pastry (thawed)
• 50 g butter
• 200 g leeks, chopped
• 1/2 cup of chopped spring onions
• 4 eggs
• 250 ml cream
• 125 ml milk
• grated rind and juice of half a lemon
• 200 g Fairview Cream Cheese with Black Pepper
• 2 t Dijon mustard
• 1 t salt
• 250 g smoked snoek (flaked and deboned)
• handful of flatleaf parsley, chopped
• handful of chives, chopped

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.
2. Spray a 23cm springform cake tin with non-stick spray. Roll out the pastry slightly thinner to match the size of the tin, then carefully shape the pastry around the inside of the tin. Prick with a fork all over. Trimming the edges is optional (I like the rustic look of an untrimmed edge!).
3. Blind-bake the pastry (lined with non-stick baking paper and filled with baking beans or rice) for 10 minutes, then remove paper and beans and bake for a further 5 minutes.
4. While pastry is baking, heat the butter in a pan and fry the leeks and spring onions over medium heat until soft and translucent.
5. While the leeks are frying, put the eggs, cream, milk, Fairview Cream Cheese with Black Pepper, lemon rind & juice, mustard and salt in a large bowl and beat well with an electric beater. Add the flaked snoek, soft leeks, spring onions, and fresh herbs, and mix well with a spoon to keep the chunky texture. (If you prefer a smoother texture rather than chunky, process in a food processor.)
6. Remove prebaked pastry from oven, then pour filling into pastry case. Return tin to oven and continue baking for a further 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
7. Remove from oven and leave to set at room temperature. Serve warm or at room temperature (not piping hot from the oven) with a crisp, dressed green salad.

Tips: A large rectangular tart can also be made for cutting into smaller teatime portions.

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