It was one of those days! How I ever managed to get these Rainbow Tarts together is a small miracle, but I did it! However, it is not that they are hard to make, they are just time consuming adding all the veggie strips to make them look pretty!
I had seen the idea in a Spanish magazine and I decided to give it a go! Could I find the magazine … Nope! So I made it up and it worked a treat.
Our collection of herbs have been growing nicely this year. The Basil has been exceptionally good. So I really wanted to use it in a few different ways other than my usual tomato sauce.
The smell of Basil when you pick it fresh is astounding. Most herbs are to be perfectly honest. The thrill of growing your own is quite a treat. Herbs for me are the best plants of all, especially when used to their potential!
The Cooks In Spain group on Facebook, is an amazing source of information. As well as members learning to cook, we have a number of very experienced cooks and Chefs. To be able to turn to people like this is fabulous.
A couple of weeks ago I had picked a nice amount of Basil. I wanted to make my own pesto and decided to chuck that question out there and ask members for recipes! A few variations came back. However, the one I chose was this, which came from a personal friend and retired, Cordon Bleu Chef, Deirdre Ford. It is simple and is delicious.
You can follow this blog on the Cooks In Spain Face Book page by clicking here!
Pesto Salsa is easy peasy!
1 cup Basil leaves stalks removed,1 cup of Olive oil, 1 clove garlic crushed, half a cup of freshly grated Parmesan (Pandano) and 50 g toasted pine nuts. Then add ALL ingredients into a Liquidiser and blitz until Pureed!
How easy is that!
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And then there is Chef Drew!
Although I have added my version below, having spoken to fellow ‘Cooks In Spain’ member, friend and chef, Drew Ryder, this can easily be adapted to be a Vegan dish.
You can find Drew’s recipes here, for a Herbie Cashew Cheese, Vegan Pastry and a Vegan Cheese for Nachos, by clicking the words underlined. (Just adding these now so bear with if the links do not yet work!)
Drew is a vegan and specialises in both health of mind and diet. He has written a wonderful book titled ’50 Shades of Green’. If you wish to read more click the Amazon link below.
©Drew Ryder
Personal Wellness Practitioner and Transformational Coach
www.drewryder.com
So back to my cheeky little tarts!
Rainbow Tarts
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Veg peeler
- knife
- Small tart tins /or cupcake tins
- Olive oil
- Oven – Pre heated to 200 deg C
Ingredients
- 6 circles Pastry – I used the ready made circles of pastry bought from Mercadona
- 2 carrots Take off slices using a vegetable peeler
- 2 courgettes Take off slices using a vegetable peeler . You want the green skin to show. I took a slice off then cut it half to get 2 pieces.
- 6 tbsp Pesto sauce – see recipe above in intro
- 3 tbsp fine parmesan style pasta cheese
- S&P
- Olive oil for basting and brushing your tins
Instructions
- Prepare all your slices of carrot and courgette and set aside
- Add pesto and extra cheese together in a bowl. Mix to make it pasty, add more cheese if needed.
- Brush your chosen tins with olive oil and line with a pastry circle
- Add about 1.5 teaspoons of your pesto paste to each of the pastry circles
- Take your veg strips and curl them into each tin starting at the outside edge and working in towards the centre. Alternate them as you go.
- Brush the tops with a little olive oil and season with S&P
- Bake on a lower shelf of the oven until the pastry is golden. (around 40 – 50 mins)
- Leave them to cool for a few minutes and then carefully tip them out and cool on a cooling rack. You might need to loosen the edges of the pastry with a knife before attempting to tip them out.
This dish was easy to make and tasted fantastic.
They are lovely aren’t they! You could use Aubergine as well if you have some? x
I love the look of those tarts! They’re so different from the run of the mill tarts we tend to generally bake or buy. They’d look so attractive served on a table as well as on a picnic.