This savoury tart is a traditional South African recipe, made with chopped sausages and hard-boiled eggs, mixed in a creamy cheese sauce, and baked in a pastry shell. It’s a favourite at any get-together, and a slice of this tart makes delicious quick and easy lunch.
When my daughter Kathy, who lives in South Africa, was over for a visit not too long ago, her first words to me were ‘please put that savoury tart up on your website – you know the one – the sout tert that ouma used to make’.
This savoury tart has long been a family favourite, making its appearance at various get-togethers over the years. It’s made by chopping sausages and hard-boiled eggs, and mixing these with a creamy cheese sauce. It is then baked in a crispy shortcrust flan. To be honest, it is so easy to make, I’m surprised she can’t remember how to make it.
Red viennas
Back in the day, when my mother-in-law first showed me how to make it, a savoury tart was made with red vienna sausages. In those days, vienna sausages were of very dubious origin. The outer skin was a lurid pinkish-red colour, and the inner meat was a very highly processed ‘something’. It was probably best that we didn’t know what that ‘something’ was.
They were very popular, however. I remember many times buying ‘viennas and chips’ at the local cafe after school. The chips were fried in an enormous vat of oil. Two red vienna sausages were added when the chips were almost done, and then the whole lot was tipped into a greaseproof bag. Finally it was sprinkled with copious amounts of salt and vineger.
We survived, but I’m not too sure that I could eat it today.
Luckily, I’ve found a substitute for the viennas. Lidl does a very nice range of German bockwurst which I use instead. And even if I say it myself, I think it tastes better than the original version.
So Kathy, here is the sout tert recipe you asked for.
Ingredients
To make a South African savoury tart you will need the following ingredients.
For the filling you will need
- 6 hard-boiled eggs – shelled and chopped into small chunks
- 6 bockwurst sausages (or good quality vienna sausages) – chopped into 1/2cm lengths.
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 100g butter
- 2 Tablespoons cornflour
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Ground black pepper
You will also need
- 1 quantity of shortcrust pastry – you can get instructions for making shortcrust pastry from this Bacon and Egg Pie recipe, or you can buy a roll of ready-made shortcrust pastry in the supermarket.
How to make a Savoury Tart
Pre-heat the oven to 200C / 400F.
1. Line a baking dish with pastry 2. Melt the butter and mix in the cornflour 3. A spoon should leave a trail 4. Combine with the eggs and sausages 5. Fill the pastry case 6. Sprinkle with grated cheese
Roll the pastry to about 1/4″ thickness and use it to line a 30cm x 20cm baking dish. You do not need to pre-bake this pastry.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the cornflour.
Add the milk, salt and pepper and bring to the boil stirring continuously until the mixture thickens. The mixture will be thick enough if it leaves a trail then you draw a spoon through it.
If the sauce does not thicken sufficiently just mix an additional teaspoon of cornflour with a little milk and drizzle in slowly, mixing all the time, until the desired consistency is reached.
Reduce the heat and add most of the grated cheese. Reserve a small amount of cheese to sprinkle on top. Stir until the cheese has melted.
Mix the chopped egg and sausages into the sauce and spoon into the prepared pastry case. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the edges of the pastry are a light golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. This is delicious eaten either warm or cold. When the tart is warm, the filling is slightly runny, but it firms up nicely as the tart cools.
Equipment
To make this recipe you will need the following equipment. In case you are missing something I have included some links to my Amazon shop pages, where you might just find the item you are looking for.
- 30cm x 20cm baking dish – you can use a smaller size but then the tart will be deeper. I like using a glass baking dish when I’m making pastry. Because a glass dish is see-through so you can easily see whether the pastry is cooked or not. A dish with handles also helps you to easily remove it from the oven.
- Saucepan – you need one large enough to hold all the filling ingredients.
Did you know that you can get free delivery from Amazon on any item displaying the Prime logo. Join Amazon Prime today and save on your next purchase. They’ll deliver right to your door, the very next day. Or you can specify an ‘Amazon Day‘ and all your orders will arrive together on the same day.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These are affiliate links which means I get a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you click through and make a purchase.
If you want to keep up-to-date with my latest recipes why not follow along on Facebook or Pinterest. And don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can get your FREE COOKERY BOOK
Recipe – South Afrian Savoury Tart (Sout Tert)
Savoury Tart (sout tert)
Ingredients
- 1 qty Shortcrust pastry homemade or shop-bought
- 6 large hard-boiled eggs shelled and chopped
- 6 bockwurst sausages sliced into 1/2 cm pieces
- 1 cup cheddar cheese grated
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons cornflour
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 200°C / 400°F
- Roll the pastry to ¼" thickness and use to line a greased 30cm x 20cm pie dish.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the cornflour and stir to combine
- Add the milk, salt and pepper and bring to the boil stirring continuously until the mixture thickens
- Reduce the heat, add most of the cheese. Reserve a little cheese to sprinkle on top. Stir until the cheese has melted.
- Remove from the heat. Add the chopped egg and sausages and stir well to combine.
- Pour into the prepared pastry case
- Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese
- Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes until the pastry is golden.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Notes
If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, please don’t forget to give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you’d like to get in touch, you can email me on [email protected] I’d love to hear from you.
Related Recipes
While you are here, why not browse through all my baking recipes.
There are my particular favourite savoury recipes
Why not pin this recipe for later, or save it to your Yummly recipe box. And don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab your FREE COOKBOOK!
Leave a Reply