Roasted Sweet Potato & Feta Tarts

I love using stuff up. Is that weird? I love the challenge of trying to come up with something a little different from the norm that’s tasty and I have all the ingredients for. Winter is definitely upon us and a warm lunch is always welcome. I have anything for lunch but if my husband happens to be home, I’ll go to a bit of extra effort. I had 2 small sweet potatoes in the vegetable crisper and the tiniest bit of feta cheese left in the fridge so that’s how these Roast Sweet Potato & Feta Tarts came about.

I was prompted to roast the sweet potato because I already had the oven on baking muffins or cookies for the kids. That’s probably the reason why I decided on these tarts. You know, “make hay while the sun shines”? I cut them in small-ish chunks and tossed in a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until tender.

I only ever use 2 eggs when I make these tarts. I bulk out the egg mixture with whatever cream like ingredient I have. It could be cream cheese, yoghurt, sour cream or even milk but in this case I had a tiny bit of Greek yoghurt left, maybe about 1/2 cup. Beat the eggs, mix through the yoghurt and add a little salt and pepper. This is when you could add other herbs or spices if you like.

While the sweet potato was roasting you could prepare the pans. I love these semi circle type pans. They are just perfect for tart shells, cakes or biscuits you want to turn into cases. I just spray with a little oil spray to stop the pastry sticking.

Cut out the pastry using a pastry cutter and press into the pan. (I always, always have ready made puff pastry in the freezer. It’s so handy to make these kind of dishes at the last minute.)

Pop in the roasted sweet potato and chopped feta. You could add a sprinkling of cheese but I didn’t feel like adding it on this particular occasion so left it off. Pour over the beaten egg and yoghurt mixture and place in a 180 deg C oven for approximately 20 minutes or until egg mixture has set.

And done. I could’ve baked these a little more but I’ve been having trouble with my oven lately where it burns everything on the bottom. That’s why they’re not so golden on top but they were cooked and the egg was set.

I drizzled a little balsamic glaze over the top and served with a side salad. Really scrummy and an alternative to a boring old sandwich for lunch. If you’re ever roasting vegetables for your evening meal, keep a few aside and pop in the freezer so you can make this recipe even quicker. If you don’t have feta cheese, don’t worry. Just leave it out or use plain cheddar, parmesan or any other cheese you have.

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Roasted Sweet Potato & Feta Tarts

A quick lunch time treat or snack, these roasted sweet potato and feta tarts are so quick and easy to put together.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 18

Author Anne

Ingredients

• 2 small or 1 large sweet potato diced
• salt & pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup Greek yoghurt sour cream, cream or milk
• 1/2 cup feta cheese chopped into small pieces or crumbled
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
2. Roast sweet potato, which has been tossed in extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper, for approximately 20 minutes or until tender.
3. Prepare pastry cases but cutting rounds of puff pastry using a pastry cutter and place in a suitable pan which has been spray with oil spray.
4. Beat eggs and mix in Greek yoghurt (or other ingredient you use).
5. Season with salt and pepper and add other herbs or spices, if required.
6. Place pieces of sweet potato into each tart shell along with a couple pieces of feta cheese.
7. Pour egg mixture into each tart shell.
8. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until egg has set.

Recipe Notes

Drizzle with balsamic glaze (optional).
Serve with a side salad for a meal or on their own for a snack.
Pumpkin is a perfect substitute for the sweet potato.

 

Easy Pear Tarte Tatin

There’s nothing like a traditional French classic to complete the meal as in a Tarte Tatin but sometimes you just don’t have the time and sometimes your meal just needs a dessert. As I’ve mentioned before in the past, we’re not usually dessert eaters but in winter there’s nothing better than a warm fruit dessert with a little vanilla ice cream to finish off the meal.

Having puff pastry on hand is always a life saver. This particular night I only had a couple sad looking pears left in the crisper so that’s what it was going to be. A traditional tarte tatin you cook the fruit in the pan with the sugar and butter mixture, top with puff pastry, put the pan in the oven and then turn the tarte out onto a plate once baked. This has the same effect but is soooo much quicker. (French cooking traditionalists look away please!)

After arranging the sliced pears onto the sheet of puff, melt some butter in a pot with brown sugar. I added a bit of ground ginger and cinnamon to the mix which complemented the pears perfectly. (Oh, I must add, this is the second attempt. I turned my head for a minute to finish off the main meal and my sugar burnt. Just when I thought everything was going so smoothly. Typical!)

Pour the ooey, gooey caramel over the sliced pears and tuck the pastry corners in to the baking plate/pan. Bake until the pastry has turned golden brown.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you’re done. This would work well with apples, peaches, plums, pineapple or even tomatoes for a savoury version.

Easy Pear Tarte Tatin

• 2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 piece frozen puff pastry
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 125gm butter
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
2. Arrange pear slices on defrosted puff pastry.
3. Melt butter with brown sugar and spices.
4. Mix until combined and it turns in to a caramel consistency.
5. Pour over sliced pear and tuck in corners of puff pastry.
6. Bake until puff pastry turns golden brown.
7. Serve with vanilla ice cream, custard or fresh cream.

Ricotta, zucchini & cherry tomato tarts

 

Sometimes I go back through old recipes I’ve posted here, to find how I made something in particular to make it again and as I scroll through the recipe list, it looks like I must have this huge array of ingredients at all times, a fully stocked pantry, a refrigerator that resembles a deli and a freezer with whatever your heart desires. Well let me assure you, it’s nothing like that. I would say 99.9% of the time, my recipes are created based on what I have left in the fridge, pantry or freezer and it needs using up, like yesterday!

It was one of those lazy Sundays when I needed to do some school baking for the week and we had kinda missed lunch, so while the oven was I thought I’d check what I had on hand to whip up a quick snack. I had one sheet of puff pastry, one tired looking zucchini, the last of the punnet of cherry tomatoes and about half a tub of ricotta cheese that was destined to be something else but I never got around to it. That’s how these Ricotta, Zucchini & Cherry Tomato Tarts came about. I never get an urge to make something and rush to the store to buy a particular ingredient just so I can make it. Never. I always just make do and use what I have.

I’ve got these semi circle pans which are just perfect for tart making. I managed to squeeze out 12 circles of pastry, even joining some of the edges together to form rounds.

The filling is made up of the grated zucchini, the ricotta, grated tasty cheese, an egg, salt and pepper and a bit of garlic. The cherry tomatoes are popped on top.

Bake in the oven until filling has set (or until golden brown). We were starving by then so I took them out a little earlier than I should have. A delicious brunch, lunch, snack or party appetiser. Sprinkle with a little chopped chives for serving if you like. Remember, to only always use what you have. There is a substitute for just about everything.

Ricotta, Zucchini & Cherry Tomato Tarts

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 200gm ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 zucchini, grated
• cherry tomatoes
• salt and pepper

 

1. Preheat oven to 170 deg C.
2. Cut circles from puff pastry and line either a cupcake pan or similar which has been sprayed with a little oil spray.
3. Combine, ricotta, grated cheese, beaten egg, garlic, grated zucchini and salt and pepper.
4. Spoon ricotta mixture into pastry cups.
5. Top with halved cherry tomatoes.
6. Bake in oven for approximately 20 minutes or until mixture has set and is golden brown.
7. Suitable to eat hot or cold and suitable to freeze.
8. Makes 12.

 

 

Anchovy, Caramelised Onion & Tomato Tart

With the last of the anchovies I had in the fridge, I decided to whip up this easy as pie (or tart in this case) Anchovy, Caramelised Onion & Tomato Tart. I love having puff pastry in the freezer because you can always make these things in a flash.

All I did was fry off some sliced onions in a dash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, topped the pastry, made a ‘noughts and crosses’ type pattern with the anchovy fillets and topped with a half of a Roma tomato. A sprinkle of salt and pepper and bung it in the oven.

I served it with some dressed salad greens and that was lunch. I love anchovies and this was a delicious way to use them up. You can check out some other ways to use them up from my Mystery Ingredient Monday post earlier this week.

Anchovy, Caramelised Onion & Tomato Tart

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 2 onions, sliced
• 3-4 egg Roma tomatoes, cut in half
• extra virgin olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 175 deg C. Prepare baking try with baking paper and place sheet of puff pastry on baking tray.
2. Fry sliced onions in olive oil with a dash of balsamic vinegar. When soft, allow to cool slightly and then spoon onto puff pastry.
3. Place anchovy fillets onto onions in a ‘noughts and crosses’ pattern.
4. Place half a tomato inside each square.
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake until pastry is golden brown.
6. Serve with salad greens.

Beef, tomato and basil tart

I love to have puff pastry on hand. It’s such a good thing to have when you want to put together a quick, tasty meal. You could use just about anything you have on hand to make a delicious savoury tart for a quick meal. In this case, it was beef mince (ground beef), tomatoes, onion, garlic and fresh basil leaves.

Beef, tomato and basil tart

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
grated cheese (any sort is fine – I used mozarella)
small quantity of beef mince
1 tbs olive oil
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
salt and pepper
fresh basil leaves to garnish (or dried if you don’t have fresh)

1. Brown onion until softened. Add minced meat and garlic and cooked until just browned. Season with salt and pepper. (Add dried basil at this stage if you don’t have fresh.)
2. Add chopped tomato and remove from heat.
3. Score a line around the perimeter of the pastry sheet about 1-2cm (1/2″). This will become the crust of the tart and give you a defined area to put your topping.
4. Top the tart with grated cheese. Besides making the tart tasty, it will give the rest of the topping something to stick to.
5. Add beef/tomato mixture to top of tart and put in a 180 deg C (380 deg F) until pastry is golden.
6. Top with fresh basil.

You could just about use any ground meat, any vegetable and/or any cheese. Even a selection of roasted vegetables makes a gorgeous tart. No need to worry about making pastry and you’ve got a really delicious meal on the table in less than 30 minutes. A great weekend meal.