Ingredients
300g block puff pastry
2 free-range eggs, beaten
⅔ cup wholegrain breadcrumbs
½ cup finely grated parmesan
½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves finely chopped
½ butternut pumpkin, cut into 1cm slices
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season
4 zucchini, finely sliced
1 punnet baby tomatoes, halved
120g Persian feta, drained and crumbled
¼ bunch basil leaves, to serve
Method
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Preheat oven to 210°C fan-forced (230°C conventional). Put a heavy tray on middle shelf of oven to preheat. Roll out pastry (if necessary) to 4mm thick, then drape over a 35 x 25cm slice pan lined with baking paper. Working around edges, lift pastry then press all way into edges to make 90° angles, with a small amount of pastry overhanging. Use a fork to pierce pastry base, but not sides.
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Brush pastry with egg wash, then stand for 10 minutes, until completely dry to touch. Brush again. Mix breadcrumbs, parmesan and parsley, then scatter evenly over pastry base all the way to the edges.
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Drizzle pumpkin with oil, season, then cook on a hot ribbed cast-iron griddle for 5 minutes, until just softened. Arrange pumpkin, zucchini and tomato (cut side up) decoratively on tart base.
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Scatter tart with feta, put on preheated tray and bake for
10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180°C fan-forced (200°C conventional) and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until pastry sides are fully crisp. Use a small knife to cut off overhanging edges, cool slightly on a wire rack, then serve warm topped with basil.
8 expert tips for the best crispy tart
- Good-quality puff pastry has a better flavour, as it’s usually made with real butter not baking margarine, rises more impressively and gets more crisp.
- Piercing the pastry base (known as docking) means the pastry can stretch slightly without shrinking.
- Overhanging the edges of the pastry is the key to ensuring it doesn’t shrink, which can result in topping falling off.
- An egg wash does two important things. Firstly, it makes baked edges glossy and impressive but secondly, and more importantly, it acts as a waterproof barrier for the pastry base.
- Because the cooking time of the tart is short, certain ingredients need to
be pre-cooked. Here it is the pumpkin, but you would also need to pre-cook potatoes, beetroot and carrots. - Ingredients that have a higher moisture content, such as zucchini
and tomatoes, should be either sliced finely to be able to evaporate, or placed cut side up on tart. - Beginning with a hot oven helps
the pastry to lift, then a medium oven helps the entire tart to cook through. - Cooling on a wire rack prevents tart from sweating on base, which would cause crisp pastry to soften.
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