One of the ways I deal with rejection is to busy myself with multiple tasks and numerous new ventures. Yes, some of the more enlightened ones among us would refer to this as 'denial' but hey, it's my denial so I guess I'm entitled to outwork it my way.

Cooking is yet another 'coping mechanism' that I employ so to avoid feelings of loss and despair. Hence, the last couple of weeks leading up to D-Day have been a bit of a baking blur for me. Again, the more highly evolved mothers out there will probably laugh at my efforts to cope with the inevitable, but I find that the process in itself takes my mind off the obvious and the end result gives me something tangible and warm to fall into.

Hence, it's currently 11am here in Melbourne and my house is devoid of children, calamity and clamour, yet I will still bake as if I have a cast of thousands to feed. Plus later this afternoon I know beyound a shadow of a doubt that I will have two ravenous school children clawing at the pantry door, so my efforts and this roasted cherry tomato pie with crispy pancetta will not go to waste.

Roasted Cherry Tomato Pie with Crispy Pancetta & Basil

This pie is basically an adaptation of Anastasia's spanakopita. It might be helpful to take a look at that recipe and the process photos before attempting this one.


Ingredients

1 x 375g pkt of filo pastry

250g cherry tomatoes, halved

150g pancetta

300g fetta

300g fresh ricotta

½ cup grated parmesan

3 organic eggs

300ml thick cream

A bunch of fresh basil & some fresh thyme

Sea salt & freshly ground pepper



Method



1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease a 30cm round baking dish with some olive oil and set aside.



2. Place the cherry tomatoes cut side facing up on a separate baking sheet. Drizzle with some olive and then sprinkle with some fresh thyme and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Place the pancetta on a separate baking sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes or until crispy.

3. Allow the tomatoes and pancetta to cool and then place in a large mixing bowl. Add the fetta, ricotta and parmesan and stir until well combined. Crumble in the crispy pancetta and add the fresh torn basil leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste.



4. Lay a couple of sheets of filo pastry on top of each other and then scatter a little of the tomato, pancetta and fetta mixture over the filo. Scrunch the pastry up and then place it into the prepared baking dish. Repeat the process until you have no mixture left and/or the baking dish is well packed with bunches of scrunched up tomato and fetta filled filo pastry sheets.



5. Beat the cream and eggs together and gently pour the mixture over the pie ensuring that the pie is evenly drenched. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the pie to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.