I am really excited to be starting to explore real summer recipes! I’m sure you’ll agree with me that this Tomato Mozzarella and Pesto Picnic Tart would look great on a salad table at a BBQ, laid out on a picnic blanket in a field or on a beach, or just in the centre of a dinner table with a big bowl of salad and potato wedges keeping the whole family happy on a summer’s eve!
The quantities of this recipe make a tart 7.5 inches across so it really is the perfect size for sharing among other dishes, but I can guarantee whatever you serve it with, this tart will be the star!
What makes this Tomato Mozzarella and Pesto Picnic Tart so special are the four distinct layers, melt in the mouth short crust pastry, earthy pesto, creamy mozzarella and then bright and sunny tomatoes – which are now in season by the way! Woo hoo! You don’t know how excited May makes me in terms of food, as some of the best fruit and veg comes in to season, as soon as exams are over I’ll be taking over my Dad’s veg patch, he won’t know what’s hit him!
Not only is this dish in season, but it is also easy to turn into a low-er fat option! Tomatoes will give you a helping hand towards your 5 a day, low fat/low cal mozzarella and pesto are easy to find in any good supermarket. And I can confirm that the most recent time that I made my pastry, I made it with a low fat margarine substitute! (God only knows what its chemical name is…we will pretend its margarine for now…)
I guarantee that if you try this Tomato Mozzarella and Pesto Picnic Tart it will become a staple of your summer.
Tomato Mozzarella and Pesto Picnic Tart
Ingredients
- 125g Plain Flour
- 50g Butter or margarine
- 3 tbsp water
- One ball of mozzarella
- One large beef tomato
- Half a jar of pesto
- Pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Sift your flour into a large bowl and add the fat. Push the fat and flour between your fingers ips to form a breadcrumb like mixture. Make sure the ‘breadcrumbs’ are of even size and not clumped together.
- Once the breadcrumbs have form add two of the tbsp of water and using a flat knife bring the dough together. Add another tbsp if you need. Finally bring the dough together into a ball using your hands. Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and pop in the fridge for half an hour or so.
- After 30mins, roll the ball of pastry out on a floured surface about 1/2 cm thick – or large enough to fill a 7.5cm tart tin. Place the pastry into the tin and push into the corners. Place baking beads (or lentils/rice) over the pastry and place on gas mark 4 for 20mins to blind bake the pastry.
- In the meantime slice your beef tomato in roughly 6 large rounds. Once the pastry has been blind baked turn the oven up to gas mark 5 and let it continue to pre-heat while you assemble the tart. First cover the base of the pastry in roughly 4 tbsp of pesto. Then cover with the mozzarella before decoratively placing the tomato slices on top.
- Place into your oven for 15mins. At the 15minute mark sprinkle pine nuts on top then if necessary turn the tart in the oven to ensure it cooks evenly before cooking for a final 15mins.
- The tart can be served hot or cold.
@Verygoodrecipes.com: mozzarella, pesto, pastry, shortcrust, tomato, picnic
Yum! Tastes of summer!