I came up with this recipe wanting to use up the ingredients I had in my fridge before they went bad, and low and behold, this is now one of my favorite simple meals! I made a big tart and cut it up, but you could also cut the puff pastry up and make individual tarts or turnovers with these ingredients to serve as hors-d’oeuvres when people come over. The crust is flaky and tender while the lemon zest and sun dried tomatoes perfectly balance one another. There is so much to say about this lovely treat, but it can all be summed up in one word. Delicious!
Ingredients:
- 1 roll of puff pastry, thawed, but chilled
- 1 large zucchini, thinly sliced
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- ½ cup grated asiago cheese + more if needed
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
Start by preheating the oven to 450 degrees. Then, get started on your oil mixture. Place chopped tomatoes, olive oil, lemon zest, oregano, chili flakes, garlic, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepot. Heat gently until just barely simmering, then turn off the heat. You want to heat everything so the tomatoes plump up and all of the flavors are released, but do not want to cook it.
Next, place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spray with oil. Unroll or unfold your puff pastry, and roll out slightly, just to make it even. You want to handle it as little as possible so it stays really cold. The best way to thaw puff pastry is in the fridge overnight. Or you could leave it out on the counter to thaw, then pop it back in the fridge to let it chill. Transfer it to the baking sheet and poke the puff pastry with a fork, creating rows of fork holes, leaving a 1 inch border around the edge with no holes. This will ensure a flat, crisp bottom with a puffy, flaky crust on the outside.
Sprinkle the middle (everywhere but that one inch border) with about ¼ cup cheese, then spoon on the tomato mixture, using as little of the oil as possible (you’ll use that later). Right now you only want those yummy tomatoes mixed with garlic and lemon zest. Try to spoon on the solids and reserve the flavored oil for later.
After the layer of tomatoes comes the sliced zucchini. Lay them out slightly overlapping in lines to fill the center square. Sprinkle the sliced shallots and a pinch of salt on top, and now drizzle that flavored oil all over the zucchini and shallots. Top with remaining cheese, or more if desired, and fold edges of puff pastry up to create a little tart. Fold the edges up over the zucchini to keep everything in place as shown in the picture.
Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and flaky. Garnish with fresh cracked black pepper and enjoy!