Puff Pastry Vegetable Tart
- Jul 7, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 31, 2023
We've used this numerous times for our vegetarian option on Joff's Catering menus and it always goes down well. You can use any combination of veggies that you like, and swap out the pesto for caramelised onions, but the recipe below is a good starting point.
1 x sheet of ready-made puff pastry
4 teaspoons pesto
1 handful of mixed, ripe cherry tomatoes
8 asparagus spears
4 baby courgettes
2-3 jarred roasted peppers
½ a bunch of fresh basil
olive oil
8 black olives , optional
1 x 100 g ball mozzarella or crumbly feta
20 g Parmesan cheese , optional
Take the puff pastry out of the freezer and allow to defrost.
Cut into 4 equal squares.
Place the pastry squares on a baking tray, leaving a space between each.
Using the back of a spoon, spread the centre of each square with pesto, but don’t spread it onto the edges.
Squash the tomatoes into a large mixing bowl, then snap the asparagus spears into 3cm pieces. Keep the lovely pointy tips and a little of the stalk, but discard the end 3cm.
Using a speed peeler, carefully shred the courgettes into ribbons. Tear the roasted peppers into strips and add to the bowl.
Pick the basil leaves, reserving the pretty ones for later. Place the large ones in the mixing bowl.
Mix the vegetables together in the bowl, adding a splash of oil. Pile a little of the mixture on each pesto-smeared tart and top with two olives (if using).
Break up the mozzarella and place little bits on top of each tart – this will make it gooey like a pizza or crumble over the feta. Grate over some Parmesan (if using).
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the cheese is all bubbly.
Once the tarts are ready, allow to cool slightly. Sprinkle with the reserved basil leaves and sometimes we use toasted pinenuts and serve with a nice salad for lunch.
Latest version: had lots of spinach in the garden, so wilted and chopped up a good bowlfull and added that to a non stick frypan that you've got olive oil in, having sauted one onion with a couple of cloves of garlic and a good pinch of nutmeg. Mix well and scatter over the top of one sheet of puff pastry, leaving a border. I always score the border with a knife first.
Top with a crumble of feta and a cheese of your choice. Bake as above.
Yum!
