A simple puff pastry tart that is easy to put together and makes a really good vegetarian main course when served with baby potatoes and salad or vegetables.

Balsamic Tomato and Feta Tart

Name: Balsamic Tomato and Feta Tart
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 375g (13oz) puff pastry (ready-rolled, block, rolled or homemade); 250g (9 oz) cherry tomatoes (or other mini tomatoes); 100g (3 ½ oz) feta cheese (or vegan greek cheese), crumbled; 2 tablespoons pesto (standard or dairy free); 1 handful fresh basil, torn; 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar; 1 tablespoon olive oil (plus more for brushing); a good grinding black pepper

It's April 2007 and I'm starting this blog to encourage myself to try new recipes and to encourage myself to be more adventurous.

Too many of my recipes start with a tin of tomatoes (hence the name).

Of course, tomatoes are much more healthy for you when they are cooked. You can read more about that in this CNN article.

So first up, we will start with this simple balsamic tomato and feta tart.

Puff pastry tart

I'm starting by sharing an old favourite of mine, a puff pastry tart.

You are going to love this tart.

Cooking the tomatoes with balsamic vinegar gives them a gorgeous pop of flavour.

You will be hooked once you try it.

Which type of puff pastry is best?

I use ready-rolled puff pastry as its such good quality and so convenient.

You can of course make your own puff pastry if you have the time, but shop-bought pastry is such good quality, why bother.

Alternatively, you can buy a block of puff pastry to make this tomato puff pastry pie and roll it into a rectangle before topping it.

Personally, I can not roll a neat triangle out of pastry to save my life as the saying goes.

Adding feta to this basic tomato tart elevates it to something special.

For more delicious puff pastry recipes, check out 50 BEST Plant-Based Puff Pastry Recipes for Vegans.

Balsamic tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes, or for that matter any tomatoes are delicious in a tart or pie.

Dry cook the tomatoes until the skin splits and then cook them in balsamic, which seeps into the tomatoes and carmelises on the outside.

Oh my!

What you need to make a tomato and feta tart

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make this easy vegetarian tart (followed by the tweaks you need to make, to turn this into an equally delicious vegan tart).

Puff pastry - ready rolled, block or homemade
Cherry tomatoes - or another mini tomato like baby plum tomatoes
Balsamic vinegar - to flavour the tomatoes
Pesto - why not make your own (try this cashew pesto)
Feta - see notes below if you are using dairy-free feta
Basil - fresh basil is best
Olive oil - or rapeseed oil

Making this vegetarian tart vegan

This delicious tomato tart can easily be made vegan, by using dairy-free pesto and dairy-free feta.

However, dairy-free feta has to be treated differently.

It's gorgeous when added straight to salads, but heat it and it turns back to oil.

So if you see a recipe that says add dairy-free feta instead of feta and it's baked or cooked, don't do it!

They obviously have never tried vegan feta.

When baking something like this balsamic tomato tart, crumble some dairy-free feta once it is out of the oven.

Just as delicious but it won't turn into oil.

More puff pastry tarts to try

Here are a few more delicious tarts for you to try next.

Most of them are vegan, but if you are vegetarian, just use your regular cheese etc.

Asparagus Tart with Cheese Sauce - An easy vegan asparagus tart that celebrates summer. Made with puff pastry and a cheese sauce base with herbs for extra flavour.
Garlic Mushroom & Spinach Tart - A simple puff pastry tart topped with thyme scented garlic mushrooms and spinach.
Mini Falafel Onion Tarts - These simple falafel and onion pastry pies are super easy to make and are something different to add to your lunchbox.
Scottish Carrot & Chive Tart - A simple golden puff pastry tart with roasted baby carrots on a creamy herb base. Perfect for an easy dinner with baby potatoes and vegetables.
Spinach & Onion Puff Tart - An easy and tasty seasonal tart made with spinach and onion that will delight both children and adults.

tart, puff pastry tart, puff pastry pie, tomato tart, tomato pie

dinner

British

Yield: 6

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum