BREAKFAST TARTS
These Breakfast Tarts are prepared from puff pastry with a bit of vegetables and egg. A delicious savoury breakfast idea, you can add vegetables of your choice. Can also add bacon, sliced sausages, your choice of cheese, etc. I have chosen to use spring vegetables, fruit and herbs - baby spinach, fresh basil, mushrooms, bell pepper and baby tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 400 g puff pastry thawed
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups baby spinach roughly chopped
- ¼ cup onion chopped finely
- 2-3 cloves garlic sliced
- ½ cup baby tomatoes cut into halves
- 3-4 large mushrooms slice or chop them
- ¼ cup bell pepper diced
- some basil leaves fresh
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper powder
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
BAKE THE TARTS
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Roll out the puff pastry sheet to about ⅛ inch thickness. You may need to dust the worktop or board with some flour.
- Cut the rolled pastry into four equal parts, either as squares or rectangles.
- Using a sharp knife, score each square or rectangle creating a ½ inch border. Do not cut through, just score it.
- Place the squares or rectangles on a lined baking tray/sheet.
- Brush the pastry with some milk.
- Bake the pasty shells for 15 minutes.
PREPARE THE FILLING:
- In the meantime let us prepare the filling.
- Heat oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
- Add chopped onion. Stir fry for 1 minute.
- Add sliced garlic and chopped bell pepper. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Add sliced or chopped mushrooms and salt.
- Stir fry till the mushrooms begin to wilt. Don't overcook them otherwise they may taste dry when baked with the egg.
- Take the pan off the heat. Add chopped spinach,tomatoes, fresh basil and pepper powder.
- Mix well and allow the mixture to cool down a bit.
ADD FILLING TO THE TARTS
- Remove the tarts from the oven. They should have risen and be light golden in colour.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C.
- Using the back of the spoon, gently press down the middle part of the squares or rectangles. This will help to hold the filling in place.
- Divide the filling between the four pastry shells. If some is left, you can use it up as a sandwich filling or add to your omelette.
- Spread out the filling to make a layer. Make a slight depression in the middle.
- Gently break an egg over the filling. Repeat the same with the remaining tarts.
- Put the tray back in the oven to bake the eggs.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes. In 10 minutes the egg white gets cooked but the yolk will be runny. In 15 minutes the yolk too will be a bit cooked.
- Don't bake the eggs for too long outside they will taste tough.
- Remove the breakfast tarts from the oven.
- Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and chilli flakes over them and serve.
Notes
- To get those nice flaky layers, make sure the puff pastry dough is cold. If while rolling them out the dough becomes warm, then place the cut squares or rectangles in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
- I made the mistake of trying to cut the exact size of squares, which resulted in some dough being leftover. It is easier to roll out the pastry and then cut in squares or rectangles.
- Make sure when scoring the dough you don't cut it through.
- Don't over cook the eggs, they will taste rubbery.
- Can add any choice of cheese to the filling if you want to. Sometimes I add cheddar or feta.
- Add filling of your choice like spring onions, asparagus, sweet corn, kidney beans, broccoli, etc