tomato ricotta tart

Pastry always seems to be my ‘go-to’ default dinner or lunch when I am short on both inspiration and time and this morning I was feeling the short comings of both after yet another sleep deprived night. Grace is in the painful midst of cutting a couple of new teeth so our nights are punctuating with a few more tears and cuddles than usual leaving me weary eyed to say the least. Thanks to an injection of caffeine via my sanity saving morning espresso I was able to pull myself together just long enough to retrieve a sheet of short crust from the deep freeze and stir together a little ricotta topping to create an off the cuff, easy peasy tomato tart for lunch.

I have made this type of tart more times than I can count. Its basically a shortcrust pastry base adorned with a creamy cheesy concoction of ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest and fresh herbs studded with a punnet of halved bright red and gorgeously juicy cherry tomatoes. Sometimes I’ll weave through thin shavings of zucchini and prosciutto or stud with a few kalamata olives but today I kept it simple with the tomatoes as Grace absolutely adores them. After a quick visit to the oven the golden crispy tomato tart was ready to be enjoyed for lunch alongside a small rocket salad drizzled in a little extra virgin olive oil. Grace and I devoured our lovely little slices of tart on the balcony soaking in the delicious rays of sunlight that filtered through the trees before heading off for a much needed afternoon nap.

To create your own tomato ricotta tart simply…

Place the ricotta, crumbled feta, grated parmesan, lemon zest and sliced spring onion into a bowl and mix to combine.

Place one sheet of short crust pastry on an oven tray lined with baking paper and trim the corner edges to create a circle.

Spread the ricotta mixture over the base of the short crust pastry leaving a 1-2 centimeter border.

Gently press the halved cherry tomatoes into the ricotta mixture.

Fold the pastry border up, pinching roughly to secure the edges. Brush the pastry with a little egg wash and pop into a preheated 180°C (350°) oven for 35-40 minutes.

When the pastry the is golden and cooked, remove from the ovena and allow the tart to cool a little before adorning with a sprinkling of chopped parlsey leaves.

Tomato & ricotta tart

INGREDIENTS

1 sheet shortcrust pastry, thawed

1 cup ricotta

2 tablespoons feta, crumbled

1/3 cup parmesan, grated

zest of 1 lemon

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

1 egg

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the shortcrust pastry on an oven tray lined with baking paper and trim the corners to create a rough circle. In a small bowl place the ricotta, feta, parmesan, lemon zest and spring onions and stir to combine. Spread the ricotta mixture over the base of the pastry leaving a 1-2 centimeter border. Lightly press the tomatoes into the ricotta mixture. Fold the pastry border up, pinching roughly to secure the edges. Brush the pastry with a little egg wash and pop into a preheated 180°C (350°) oven for 35-40 minutes or until the pastry is cooked and golden. Serve warm or at room temperature alongside a rocket salad.

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