Recipe: Tomato Pesto Pastry Tart

This dish always feels way fancier than the time it takes to make and there are endless versions to try out! I opted for a fresh parsley-lemon pesto, fresh feta cheese (ours is made right in the village!) and sliced summery tomatoes! You can do these in any shape and size or even do them in a whole sheet format and cut squares to serve! I love the crispy edges, so I always do personal size or smaller.

Appetizer or Entree | Serves 4 (appetizer) or 2 (entree)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 sheet puff pastry, thawed

• 2 large tomatoes, sliced thin

• 1 bunch parsley, washed

• 8-10 walnuts

• Olive oil

• Sea salt, cracked pepper

• Dried or fresh basil

• chili flakes

• 1/2 of a lemon juice

• 6 oz feta cheese

Directions:

1. Thaw one sheet pastry on counter for 1 hour or in fridge until pliable (see note)*

2. Preheat oven to 400ºF or 200ºC

3. Prepare pesto in food processor or blender:

   1. add parsley, walnuts, salt, pepper, basil, pinch chili flakes, 1-2 tsp lemon juice, 2 oz feta and 1-2 Tbsp olive oil.

   2. Pulse to blend

   3. Add a little water or oil at a time until it’s processed (I prefer mine a little chunky, not pureed fully)

4. Cut pastry sheet in half and place the rest in a sealed bag in fridge or freezer (see note)

5. Cut the half sheet into 2 pieces for entrees or four pieces for appetizers (or more)

6. Lightly etch an inner 1/2"-inch ‘border’ inside each piece and place 3-4 thin lines on the center surface - this will allow the pastry to pre-bake and rise without having the center become too high.

7. Place pastry rectangles on parchment or foil lined baking sheet

8. Brush with olive oil or beaten egg and sprinkle with salt

9. Bake until puffed and golden 8-10 minutes (depending on your oven)

10. Remove, top with pesto, feta, and tomato slices, pop back in for 2-3 minutes

11. Remove and garnish with fresh basil

Docking the Pastry

An easy way to make sure the whole pastry doesn’t puff is to lightly dock it. Make sure to not cut through! Use a sharp knife to partially cut or a fork to poke holes.

Notes:

My puff pastry comes with 2 individually sealed rolls, I remove one and use half the sheet for this and save the other half in the fridge for later in the week and make quick fruit pastry tarts (recipe coming soon!)