A super easy puff pastry cheese tart appetiser that can be made with few ingredients and with flexible topping.
We love to have impromptu gatherings and friends over for nibbles and drinks at odd times or shall we say happy hours.
My secret to quickly make something without much prep or thought is to make puffs or tarts.
This spicy chicken patties is another trick to disguise leftovers into a new avatar.
A freezer ingredient that you will never find my freezer devoid of is a pack of pre-rolled puff pastry or shortcrust pastry dough.
Puff pastry savoury tarts are my rescue boats, always a smooth sail.
This puff pastry cheese tart recipe is one I made with whatever ingredients I had in hand.
This is what makes tart recipes using puff pastry or any pastry for the matter so versatile and flexible.
Start with a basic pastry roll, choose different toppings, bake and serve.
Benefits;
♥ Cleared leftovers
♥ No fuss baking
♥ Mess free kitchen
♥ Happy you and
♥ Singing your glory guests
Ingredients for Puff Pastry Cheese Tarts
These are individual pastry tarts which means they are good as appetisers and great for potlucks.
You can also serve them with salad and turn them into a main meal.
Adding spices like cumin powder and chilli lend a hint of spiciness to the usual cheese tarts.
Here is a snap shot of the ingredients used:
FRESH OR PANTRY INGREDIENTS
FOR THE TOPPING
⇒ Cottage cheese – 1 cup
⇒ Leeks, finely chopped – 1/2
⇒ Capsicum,finely chopped – 1
⇒ Mushroom, diced – 1/2 cup
⇒ Salami Slices, diced – 10 – 12 slices
⇒ Grated Cheese for topping – 3/4 cup
⇒ Roasted cumin powder – 2 tsp
⇒ Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
⇒ Butter for frying – 1 tbsp
⇒ Salt to taste
FOR THE BASE
⇒ Puff Pastry Roll – 1 packet
⇒ Egg, beaten – 1
SPICES USED
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
⇒Choose leftover dry dishes like stir fried vegetables or mince etc
⇒ For a gooey cheesy topping use a mix of mozzarella and with other cheese such as cheddar .
⇒ Chilli flakes for adding heat
SUBSTITUTE INGREDIENTS
⇒ Substitute for meat – Make vegetables cheese tartlets and use extra cheese, mushrooms and capsicum.
⇒ Substitute for roasted cumin powder – If you do not find roasted cumin powder add regular cumin powder.
⇒ Substitute for leeks – Use green onions or chopped regular onions instead
How to Make Cheesy Puff Pastry Tarts
This puff pastry tart recipe is so easy to put together and make.
You can skip the sauteing step and just mix the topping in a bowl and load it on top of your individual puff pastries.
Below are the steps to follow:
STEP 1
Pre heat oven to 180°C.
Melt butter in a pan and add the capsicum and mushroom and saute for 1 minute. Next add the remaining ingredients for the topping one by one and mix together for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
STEP 2
Line up the puff pastry on a butter paper and spread a thin layer of the beaten egg on to the pastry and cut into square pieces.
STEP 3
Put a spoonful of topping on each square piece and top with some grated cheese.
STEP 4
Bake the pastry on 180°C for 10 minutes. Add the extra cheese topping after 10 minutes and let it melt. Serve with ketchup or sweet chilli sauce.
Cooking Tips and FAQ’s
- Sauteing the vegetables in butter is an optional step, if you like the veges to have a crunch then skip this step and simply mix the topping in a bowl without butter.
- If is is the soft fresh cottage cheese that you are using then do not saute it.
- You can use any cheese that you like
- If you like the base to be crispier, bake the puff pastry base for 5 minutes before adding the topping and continue to bake until the base becomes golden brown in colour.
Can I use any other pastry other than puff
Yes, if buttery flaky pastry dough is not your thing oryou do not have it and are looking for an easy appetiser dish then you can use use shortcrust pastry instead.
Can I make this savoury puff pastry tart vegetarian?
Of course you can, I added salami as they were few of them lying in the fridge. Make these spicy puff pastry cheese tart without salami.
I do not have roasted cumin powder, is there any other spice I could use?
Roasted cumin powder can be a bit tricky to find. It is very easy to make you own roasted ground spices at home. Just follow this cooking with spices guide.
You can either skip using roasted cumin powder completely or use regular cumin powder.
If you are new to the idea of adding spices and herbs to your food and want to know what basic spices should you have in your kitchen then start here.
