Easy Puff Pastry Tart

It’s time for me to get back to the keyboard and thanks to your votes I’m delighted to be kicking things off with a super easy savoury recipe. I’ve become rather fond of polls on both Facebook and Instagram. I asked and you answered and a savoury dish won out this time so here it is.

I use the word cooking loosely when it comes to this recipe, as it is so easy but we all need one of those recipes in our repertoire. This is rather an indulgent dish so I don’t cook it every week despite wanting to. Anything with pastry is a winner in my book and even more so when it’s paired with tomatoes, olives, mushrooms and lots of cheese. The combinations are endless and having tested a few variations this combination is by far my favourite.

The reason I don’t make this dish frequently is because of the puff pastry which forms the base of the dish. I’m sure it’s not the healthiest so I thoroughly enjoy it when I do make it. I’ve never attempted to make puff pastry and with it so readily available I can’t see myself ever trying to. I have called it a tart but really it’s a slab of delicious, butter pastry with even more delicious ingredients on top.

Here’s what you’ll need.

Ingredients

320g puff pastry sheet

Mushrooms

Tomatoes

Olives

1 x shallot

1 x clove of garlic

Cracked pepper

Mozzarella cheese

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

Unroll the puff pastry sheet and place in a prepared rectangle baking dish.

Chop mushrooms, olives, shallot and garlic into thin slices and layer over the pastry leaving a small border around ingredients to allow pastry to be folded over.

Chop the tomatoes and scatter over pastry.

Season with pepper and generously sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the pastry.

Roughly fold the edges of the pastry to create a border and place in the oven for approximately 25mins or until golden.

Some things to keep in mind with this recipe. So lazy am I, that I have found a baking dish that is the exact size of the puff pastry sheet. No need for trimming, cutting or waste when it comes to the pastry. If possible use a good quality pastry. If you’re going to indulge you may as well make it worth it.

This combination can be rather salty so I only season with pepper but use your taste as a guide.

I serve this with a salad made up of whatever I have in the fridge. I generally try to incorporate a citric element to the salad to balance out the saltiness of the tart. Think of an olive oil and lemon juice dressing, rocket and a sprinkle of sumac. Yum!

I’ve tried many a combination and really you could put anything on puff pastry and you’d be hard pressed to go wrong. Think of homemade tomato sauce, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, feta, ricotta, spinach, roasted vegetables, fresh herbs. The options are endless. Be careful not to make it too wet or heavy for that matter as the pastry won’t puff.