Tomato and pesto tarts
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A perfect starter or even a canapé recipe from TV presenter and chef John Torode, the classic flavours of tomato and pesto shine through these rustic tarts. Use a good quality pesto, or have a go at making your own.
First published in 2015
I have always been a sucker for anything cooked in, or with, puff pastry. These deep tarts are topped with the concentrated flavour of sweet tomatoes and the kick of a punchy pesto. Serve with peppery watercress. If you like, just make smaller individual ones as snacks for your hungry hordes.
Recipe taken from John's book, My Kind of Food: Recipes I Love to Cook at Home (published by Headline, September 2015).
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 500g of puff pastry, in a block (all butter if possible)
- plain flour, for dusting
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tbsp of green pesto
- 8 plum tomatoes, sliced
- salt
- black pepper
- 100g of watercress, to serve
- 10ml of olive oil, to serve
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with baking paper
2
On a lightly floured worktop, roll the puff pastry out until it is about 2cm thick
3
You will need to cut four circular discs from the pastry so you need to find a small plate or saucer that's about 16cm in diameter to use as a template. Place the plate over the pastry and run a sharp knife around the edge to cut out the first disc. Repeat until you have four
4
Now you need to lightly score a margin about 1.5–2cm in from the edge of the pastry discs, so find a smaller plate or bowl that you can use as a template. Place the smaller plate in the centre of each pastry disc and lightly run a sharp knife around the edge, being careful not to cut all the way through
5
Lift the disks onto the baking sheet and brush with the beaten egg. With a fork, prick the inner circle but not the outer edge – this will stop the pastry from rising in the middle but will allow the outer edge of the tart to rise up
6
Take a good amount of the pesto and spread it over the inner circle of each tart. Place the tops and bottoms of the tomatoes in the centre of the tarts, then start to lay the slices on top of the pesto so they overlap and create a swirl effect – it should look a bit like a Catherine wheel. Season with salt and pepper
7
Place the tarts in the oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, until well risen and coloured. Mix the watercress with the olive oil and serve with the tarts
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