It was time to think about using up some of the leftovers in the fridge. It was lunchtime and with a rummage around I found a pack of puff pastry, a bit of smoked ham, some goat’s cheese and plenty of tomatoes.
I remembered the easy tarts I made quite often a couple of years ago and wondered why I had given up making them, favouring beans on toast or scrambled eggs. It’s strange how a favourite recipe can slip from memory, almost as if it has gone out of fashion. My previous post about it is here.
For this tart I used two tablespoons of onion marmalade mixed with two of double cream for the base. The sweetness of the onion makes a difference I think.
This kind of tart is so quick and easy to rustle up. It takes hardly any time at all to put together and is done just as soon as you would be able to cook a ready made pizza or warm a tin of soup – well, maybe a little longer than that, but it’s well worth it. It’s a great way to use up leftovers too. Peppers, chicken, sausage, mushrooms, virtually any kind of cheese – the combinations are endless.
We had ours with some green salad.
Ingredients
1 pack of ready made, ready rolled puff pastry
a lump of St Maure goat’s cheese or any cheese of your choice
1 large or 2 small spring onions
1 large or 2 medium tomatoes
1 or 2 slices of ham, cut into strips
2 tblsp double cream
2 tblsp sweet caramelised onion marmalade or chutney
Method
If you can, remember to take the pastry out of the fridge 20 minutes before you start, so that it won’t split when you unroll it.
Preheat the oven to 220°C / 200° fan.
Unroll the pastry and trim it if necessary to fit a baking tray or sheet. Place the pastry on the sheet on top of the baking paper it was wrapped in (or on fresh paper). Make a cut in the pastry about 2 cm from the outside edge, all the way round, to make a margin, trying if possible not to cut all the way through.
Mix together the cream and chutney and spread over the pasty with the back of a spoon within the margin.
Arrange the slices of tomato, cheese, ham and onion on top and bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is browned and the cheese bubbling.
Serves 2-4, depending what you serve with it. Salad makes two servings from it. Add chips or potato salad and bread to make it serve four.
As soon as I saw this I had the same thought -- how come I haven't made one of these for ages!
ReplyDeleteSusan, we'll probably have one a week for the next couple of months - then I'll forget all about them again!
DeleteSounds wonderful. Once I can use both hands again I will definitely try this.
ReplyDeletePerpetua, you could probably do this with one hand, if DH can help you with slicing the cheese and getting it in and out of the oven.
DeleteI feel for you. I had a plaster on my wrist for eight weeks after I broke it twenty years ago - it was over the Christmas period and it made life incredibly difficult. I do hope you're up to full speed again soon.
I love these puff pastry tarts - I forget about them, then remember them and how easy and simple they are!
ReplyDeletethis looks gorgeous!... isn't puff pastry just the best thing for making left-overs look so glamorous... this looks like a perfect mid-week meal!
ReplyDeleteRight... I found the rectangular puff-pastry...
ReplyDeleteand put it straight into the freezer...
and I've coppid the recipe onto the hard-drive....
just need to accumulate some "wot's in the frigo"s!
Puff pastry is so useful and your tart looks so good. Made one yesterday using goat's cheese, beetroot and puff pastry.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Baking Year...
ReplyDeleteand may the 2015 "crumb" always work right!
What, no cakes? Are you being extra good because it's the new year Jean. Well good luck if so and I wish you a very happy 2015.
ReplyDeleteJean, this looks delightful! And I might have some homemade puff pastry in the freezer, though I'm thinking I better make something sweet with it because I didn't label it and it might actually be my homemade Danish pastry, so ... Maybe I better get some for-sure puff pastry before I make this!
ReplyDelete