I must admit I am more of a savoury than sweet person, I also love pastry. This tart though is lovely and light and perfect eaten hot or cold.
This makes it a great addition for picnics, barbeques and gatherings. It is a great standby lunch enjoyed with a big salad.
- Quick and easy
- Cheesy
- Flaky
- Portable
- Zesty
- Flavourful
- Gluten-free and vegan
Totally delicious in the summer months, when tomatoes are in season and bursting with flavour. Add whatever tomatoes you have on hand or mix it up with Plum, Beefsteak or colourful heritage ones.
In the warmer months we want to spend less time in the heat of the kitchen, these can be ready to eat in 35 Minutes.
Notes
- If you prefer a tomato-based pesto over the herb one then just swap it over.
- I use tomatoes for this one but there are so many vegetables you could add such as
- Peppers
- Onions
- Roasted peppers
- Courgettes
- Mushrooms
3. I used homemade mozzarella(I will add the link below) but there are so many great brands out there like Italian style Notzarella from the Vegan Kind website, Violife, Risella or Sheese. We all have our favourite vegan cheese brands.
The pesto, there are some great jars of both vegan and gluten-free pesto around if you want to save time. I nearly always make my own, that way I can be in control of the overall taste. Herbs are so easy to grow in a garden, tub or window sill, ready and available to make some homemade pesto.
I love the way the tomatoes blister on the top and bursting with natural sweetness married with the delicious basil pesto.
Nutritional Yeast This will add the cheesy flavour to a homemade pesto or you could use vegan parmesan.
Puff Pastry It is now easy to find a ready-made puff pastry that is vegan and gluten-free.
You could also make this into 4 separate tarts for a dinner party.
Pesto and Mozzarella Tart
- Preparation Time 10 Minutes
- Baking Time 20-25 Minutes
- Serves 4-6
Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free
Ingredients
- 1 packet of gluten-free and dairy-free puff pastry
- 5 tbsp of dairy-free pesto
- 250 g of juicy ripe tomatoes sliced
- 50 g of vegan parmesan (optional)
- 175-200 g of vegan Mozzarella
- 2 tsp of olive oil
- 40 g of sun-dried tomatoes chopped.
- Handful of fresh basil leaves.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C or 200 fan oven. Unroll the pastry onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
- Using a ruler or a straight edge, score all around the pastry a 1-inch border. Do not cut all the way through and prick the middle with a fork.
- Spread the base of the tart with your pesto, making sure you keep it inside the border.
- Lay on your sliced tomatoes or whole cherry tomatoes until you have covered the pesto. If you are using large tomatoes you could overlap them. This time I was using a glut of cherry tomatoes, then dotting your sun-dried tomatoes around the tart.
- Tear or cut your mozzarella and place it between and over the tomatoes. Sprinkle over the parmesan if you are using it and brush the border with a little olive oil.
- Place the tray into the oven and bake for 18-20 Minutes. It should be golden and bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Delicious warm or cold adding a handful of torn basil leaves and some toasted pine nuts on top.
Here are some recipes if you decide to try them.
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