Torta de Fiambre: Urugayan Ham and Cheese Tart

Uruguayan pie

Category
Brunch
Cuisine
American
Serves
8 servings
Time
30 minutes
From
Thespruceeats

cheesehamtart

Adapted from: https://www.thespruceeats.com/torta-de-fiambre-recipe-3029507

Torta de fiambre is a savory Uruguayan pie with a flaky empanada-like crust and is filled with ham, cheese, eggs, and sometimes tomato slices and/or a creamy white sauce. Torta de fiambre is like a large round empanada and is served in wedges. The word " fiambre" is the name of a kind of ham available in Uruguay, but fiambre is also the name of a completely separate Guatemalan dish (an elaborately layered salad served on All Souls Day). Though torta de fiambre is typically enjoyed as a snack or "merienda", it makes an excellent lunch or light supper dish.

Ingredients

For the Dough

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup milk

For the Filling

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 pound smoked deli ham, sliced thinly
  • 1/4 pound sliced monterey jack or cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 tomato, sliced thinly
  • 3 hardboiled eggs, sliced
  • 1 egg

Instructions

Prepare the dough

  1. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
  2. Use a fork to stir in the vegetable oil, melted butter, and egg yolks until just blended.
  3. Heat the milk until almost boiling. Add the milk, a little bit at a time, until mixture comes together into a dough. (You may not need all of the milk). The dough should be a little bit soft, and not crumbly.
  4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Sauce

  1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan.
  2. Whisk in 2 tablespoons flour, and heat, stirring, until well mixed and bubbling.
  3. Whisk in 3/4 cup milk and continue to heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens.
  4. Stir in parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Set aside to cool slightly.

Assemble

  1. Preheat oven to 400 °F.
  2. Divide dough in half. On a floured surface, roll out one-half of the dough into a thin, 9-10 inch circle.
  3. Place the dough on a greased baking sheet.
  4. Layer the ham slices onto the dough circle, leaving about a 3/4 inch border of dough around the edge.
  5. Layer the slices of cheese on top of the ham, and the tomato slices on top of that.
  6. Spread the cream sauce over the tomatoes, and top with slices of hard boiled egg.
  7. Roll out the second half of the dough into a similar circle. Place circle on top of ham and cheese, and seal edges of the bottom layer of dough with the top layer all the way around.
  8. Whisk 1 egg with a tablespoon of water, and brush pastry with egg mixture.

Bake

  1. Place tart in the oven and lower temperature to 350 °F.
  2. Bake pastry until it's golden brown, about 25 minutes.
  3. Remove tart from oven, and serve warm or at room temperature.
  4. Serves 4 people as a main course, 8 as an appetizer or brunch component