You could, of course, add meat. Chopped ham or slices of pepperoni are perfect. Salami is a great choice too. Or lightly cooked chopped bacon.
But I baked this snack at a time when one of my daughters was on a vegetarian diet. I didn’t want to exclude her from enjoying this delicious snack so I made it meatless.
Take the puff pastry out of the freezer and lay flat on a silicone mat or a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. It will thaw fast so while it’s still firm, roll out thinly. It can be a rectangle or square or circle. Trim the edges, optionally, for a cleaner look.
Take a fork and poke holes all over the puff pastry. That’s to allow steam to escape so that the crust does not turn soggy.
Folding the sides in to create a ridge is not a must be I like doing it to prevent the cheese from accidentally dripping off as it melts. That probably won’t happen if you use a meagre amount of cheese but that’s unheard of in our house. The next photo illustrates that.
Thinly sliced tomatoes are arranged on the puff pastry, the tomatoes are smothered with cheese, mushroom slices go on top of the cheese and the mushrooms are covered with more cheese.
The puff pastry with all the pizza toppings go into the preheated oven. After 15 minutes, when the crust is crisp and golden, and the cheese has melted, your cheese and mushroom puff pastry tart is ready to be cut and served.
Cheese and mushroom puff pastry tart
Ingredients
- 400 grams puff pastry
- all-purpose flour - for dusting
- ½ kilogram fresh tomatoes - thinly sliced
- herb salt - we use our own blend; feel free to substitute salt and pepper if you don’t have herb salt
- 150 grams shredded mozzarella
- 100 grams button mushrooms - thinly sliced
- 100 grams shredded Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475F.
- Dust your work surface with flour.
- Place the puff pastry on the floured surface and sprinkle with more flour.
- Using a rolling pin, roll the puff pastry into a rectangle, square or circle as thinly as you can manage.
- Poke the rolled puff pastry all over with a fork.
- Using a blunt knife, make an indentation to create a half-inch margin along all four edges of the puff pastry.
- Using the indentation as a guide, fold in the edges and press lightly.
- Lay the tomato slices on the puff pastry and sprinkle with herb salt.
- Spread the shredded mozzarella over the tomatoes.
- Scatter the mushroom slices on top of the mozzarella and sprinkle with more herb salt.
- Cover the mushrooms with shredded Parmesan.
- Slide the pizza into a tray and bake at 475F for about 15 minutes or until the edges are nicely browned and puffed.
- Cut into squares and serve.
