Every week, our Pantry coordinator picks out a couple of ingredients from what’s come into West Somerset Food Cupboard and turns them into something simple and delicious.
This week’s tart uses courgette, red pepper and tomatoes, all wrapped up in golden puff pastry with a creamy ricotta filling.
It’s easy to make, looks impressive, and works just as well warm from the oven as it does cold the next day.
Ingredients
- 375g ready-rolled puff pastry
- 250g ricotta
- 2 eggs
- Herbs of your choice (fresh or dried)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 1 courgette, cubed
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
- 12 small tomatoes, sliced
- 50g grated Cheddar cheese
- Oil for frying
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Remove the puff pastry from the fridge 30 minutes before you need it, to let it come up to room temperature.
- Fry the courgette, garlic and red pepper in a frying pan (or air fryer) until softened.
- In a bowl, beat the ricotta with a little salt and pepper. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the grated Cheddar.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / Gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Unroll the pastry onto the lined tray. Using a sharp knife, score a 2cm border around the edge — don’t cut all the way through. Prick the middle several times with a fork.
- Spread the ricotta mixture over the base, staying within the scored border. Arrange the courgette and pepper mix on top, scatter over your herbs, and finish with the sliced tomatoes.
- Brush the pastry edges with oil. Bake for 25 minutes, until the pastry is risen and golden and the filling has set.
- Serve with a salad.
Variations
The base of this tart is really just the pastry, eggs and ricotta — everything else can flex depending on what you’ve got:
- Cheese: swap the ricotta or Cheddar for feta, Parmesan or Boursin.
- Meat: add sliced cooked ham or sliced cooked sausages.
- Fish: smoked salmon works really well.
- Veg: try asparagus, defrosted peas, or sliced fried leek or red onion instead of (or alongside) the courgette and pepper.
- Herbs: fresh or dried both work — thyme, basil and Italian seasoning are all good choices. A few small dollops of pesto on top before baking is a lovely addition too.
Made with ingredients from this week’s Pantry at West Somerset Food Cupboard. Follow us on Facebook for more Cupboard to Kitchen recipes.
