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Puff pastry tart with vegetables

17/11/2023

A puff pastry tart with vegetables is a delicious and colorful dish, perfect as a starter or as a main course for a light lunch. Here I propose a simple recipe with an Italian twist.

Ingredients

  • 1 roll of ready-made puff pastry
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 1 small eggplant
  • 10 cherry tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons of Genoese pesto (or a mixture of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan if you want to make the pesto yourself)
  • 100 g of fresh goat cheese or feta (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • A few fresh basil leaves for decoration

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
  2. Roll out the puff pastry in a round pan (if it is lined with parchment paper), pricking the bottom with a fork to avoid it puffing up during baking.
  3. Wash and slice the zucchini, bell peppers, and eggplant into thin slices. The cherry tomatoes can be cut in half.
  4. In a pan, heat a drizzle of oil and sauté the vegetables (except the cherry tomatoes) for a few minutes until they start to soften. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Remove the puff pastry after about 10 minutes or when it has started to slightly brown, but is not fully cooked yet.
  6. Spread the pesto over the surface of the partially cooked puff pastry.
  7. Arrange the sautéed vegetables on the puff pastry, add the cherry tomatoes, and, if you like, crumble the goat cheese or feta on top.
  8. Bake the tart again and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden and crisp.
  9. Remove from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.

Finally, garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve.

This recipe is versatile, and you can add other vegetables to your liking, such as mushrooms, asparagus, or artichokes. If you don’t have pesto, you can simply season the vegetables with oil, salt, pepper, and maybe some spices such as oregano or thyme before laying them on the puff pastry.

Trivia

The savory tart is a variation of the more classic sweet tarts and lends itself to endless variations. The vegetables make it a light dish suitable for spring or summer, but it can be enriched with more substantial ingredients such as aged cheeses or cold cuts for a more wintery version.

Puff pastry tart with vegetables