Easy Veggie Puff Tarts
Don't these look delicious? Yeah this is the type of easy meal you can pull together with leftovers and some frozen puff pastry that makes any guest or even your mom proud when she SURPRISE shows up at your apartment.
Basic concept. Pastry + Cheese + Topping + Tossed Greens on top = perfection.
Let's get down to business. The best frozen puff pastry I have found is the DUFOUR brand, I use the regular "classic - all butter". So vegans, this one doesn't work for you. You need to let it defrost in the fridge for 2-3 hours before using it, but honestly, it has never taken me that long. I like to try a few different combos of veggies and (technically) fruit, with cherry tomatoes. This variety was made with lima tomatoes and a dubliner cheese that I received in a lovely birthday gift basket, as well as a version with formage blanc from Nettle Meadow Farms.
EASY PUFF PASTRY TARTS
makes 3 small tarts perfect for one dinner or apps for 3
INGREDIENTS
- 1/3 of a box of frozen dufour puff pastry
- handful zima tomatoes
- 1-2 oz dubliner cheese
- 1 oz formage blanc
- 6 asparagus tops
- sprouts or light greens
- evoo + lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 400F.
Start with a defrosted 1/3 of the puff pastry sheet. Sprinkle a little flour on your countertop (preferably stone - keeps it cold) and roll out a few times to get a rectangle. Cut in three pieces. With a pairing knife draw a rectangle 1/2-3/4 of an inch from the edge of each piece of pastry. This is your "border" or "crust". Then with a fork or with your pairing knife poke holes throughout your tart to ensure that the center does not rise as much as the edges.
Place your three tarts on a baking sheet, I use paper on mine so it's easily removed from the sheet, if you are going to skip the paper, spray the pan!
Bake the tarts for around 8 minutes until slightly golden and can hold a shape. During these 8 minutes you will want to prep your veggies. I prefer my tomatoes cut in half, so prep those, clean your asparagus and shred your cheese if necessary. Once out of the oven sprinkle or spread your cheese over the center of the tart, and place you veggies right on top. Try to alternate the direction of your asparagus not only for looks, but to keep the texture consistency.
Place the tarts back in the oven for 10-15 more minutes until your veggies and cheese are melted and cooked together. The asparagus takes longer to cook than tomatoes, but the dubliner is slower to melt than the formage blanc. The timing is going to vary with the thickness of your pastry, your weird oven quirks as well as how close your baking sheet is to the heat in your oven.
Once done, let cool for a few minutes, and toss your sprouts in just a teaspoon of evoo and lemon juice. It's better for these to be UNDERDRESSED for the pastry party, rather than sopping.
If serving to a few guests, cut in fours and serve pretending you slaved away in the kitchen to produce these oh so decadent hors d'ouvres.