I was in desperate need for a colorful dish to add to our summer dinner table when I came up with this idea. We have so many gorgeous herbs in our gardens this year and this tart seemed like the perfect platform for using some. The tart was remarkably good, providing the color for the table and perfect portable bites for guests casually eating in our backyard. This recipe uses frozen puff pastry and makes approximately 12 servings.
We used different colored bell peppers, but you can make that call. If you only have one color of bell pepper, you can always add more color by adding yellow or red cherry tomatoes.
Total cook time : 1 hour / 15 minutes
If you try this recipe, please share your results! We love hearing if you followed our suggestions or if you went with some of your own ideas. Thank you!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 organic red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 4 to 5 pieces for grilling
- 1 organic orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into 4 to 5 pieces for grilling
- 1 organic yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 4 to 5 pieces for grilling
- 1 large sweet onion, peeled and sliced in 1/2 inch rings
- 3 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1-1/2 tsp dry Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp sea salt, plus more for garnishing
- 2 T minced garlic
- 1/2 C torn fresh organic basil leaves
- 1 C of quartered cherry tomatoes
- 1 (14 oz sheet) puff pastry, thawed
- Egg wash (one egg yolk and 1 tsp water, mixed together)
- 1 C ricotta
- 2 T fresh lemon zest
- 2 T chopped fresh organic thyme
- 1 C quartered multi-colored organic cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 C crumbled goat cheese
- 10-12 whole basil leaves for garnishing
- 8 fresh organic thyme sprigs for garnishing
- 1 tsp Jacobsen’s lemon zest sea salt (or any sea salt you have on hand)
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
Preheat your grill. On a sheet pan, toss your cut peppers and onion rings in olive oil and season with salt and Italian seasoning. Place your cut peppers skin side down on the hot grill and the onion rings on the hot grill. Cook until peppers are blackened and onion has some caramelization and grill marks. Cook time will depend on your grill but somewhere between 10 and 12 minutes should do it Put peppers and onion back on sheet pan and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a sheet pan. Place thawed puff pastry on parchment. With a small paring knife, score the dough about an inch from the edge and about half way through thickness – all the way around. This will enable the dough to rise above the center area. With a fork, pierce the center area of the dough. This keeps it from bubbling up during baking. Mix your egg and water for your egg wash. Brush edges with egg wash. Place sheet pan on center rack and back for 12-14 minutes or until golden. If center dough rises up, simple pat it back down with a spatula.
While dough is baking, mix your ricotta, lemon zest and chopped thyme. Rough chop your peppers and onion and toss with minced garlic and torn basil leaves.
When dough is cooled, carefully spread your ricotta mixture evenly over the dough, up to the edge that you brushed with egg wash. Evenly top ricotta with chopped pepper mixture (with onion, garlic and basil). Once you have all your ingredients on the puff pastry, place it back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Watch to make sure edges are not getting too brown.
Cool tart for about 10 minutes and then garnish with cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, whole basil leaves, thyme sprigs, sea salt and cracked black pepper. Cut tart into squares and for smaller portions, cut your squares into triangles. Serve with big green salads, grilled meats, red wine, sparkling wines.
COOK’S NOTES:
When grilling sliced peppers, I don’t flip the pepper segments because they get blackened enough on one side to add the flavor you’re looking for AND the juices that form in the “cup” of the pepper segment are lost when you flip them over. Those juices add even more flavor to your grilled pepper dishes!