A Semi-Homemade Ricotta Tart for Every Season, Every Reason
An adaptable, all-season ricotta tart that’s 50% store-bought pastry dough, so all you have to do is make the cheese filling.
Earlier this year, I started working weekends at a local winery. And like all things in life there are pros and cons. One of the cons, though, is missing out on quality time with my friends, who all work standard Mon-Fri jobs. Their Saturday is my Tuesday.
So sometimes we just have to make it work on a Wednesday night, and when you’re not able to meet up until 6:30 pm due to work schedules, you need decadent but simple meals that can be thrown together with minimal fuss.
I like this ricotta tart because it uses store bought puff pastry, which really is 50% of the work done for you, and can adapt to every season. Zucchini or tomato in the summer, English peas or asparagus in the spring, Brussels sprouts in the fall, and chard in the winter - you get the idea. Have fun with it and let the farmers markets inspire your combinations.
Ingredients:
1 cup full fat ricotta cheese, drained if needed
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 egg, beaten
1 clove garlic, grated
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup parsley, finely minced
1/4 cup mint, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 package of store bought puff pastry, thawed
Seasonal vegetable of choice*
1 lemon
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400F.
Combine 1 cup of full fat ricotta cheese (drained), 1/4 cup of mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, one beaten egg, 1 clove of finely grated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of red pep flakes or 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne, 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley, 1/4 cup finely chopped mint, 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt, and 10 twists of freshly ground black pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined.
Taste the cheese and herb mixture - it should taste moreish now, as is. Does it need more salt, spice, or pepper? We will be adding acid during serving so don’t worry if it tastes like it needs acid.
Prepare your produce, and let the veggies tell you how they want to be sliced. Tomatoes will usually want to be cut into 1/4 inch rounds, zucchini into lengthwise eighths, asparagus, unless especially girthy, can be left whole with just the woody ends removed, and so on. Toss the produce with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Note: You can bake the vegetables with the tart, as I did in this recipe, or you can lightly sauté them separately, and then top the freshly baked tart with it during plating. Let the vegetable tell you how it wants to be cooked.
Lay out the puff pastry onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Take a small knife and score a line around the pastry dough, about 1 inch from the edge.
Spread the cheese and herb mixture around the pastry dough, making sure to stay within the scored rim.
Arrange your vegetable of choice in an artful pattern. Or a haphazard way with no detectable pattern, if you so choose. Personally I’m a virgo moon so I couldn’t resist the chance to artfully arrange my zucchini, and it brought me great joy to do so.
Bake in a pre-heated 400F oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden brown and the vegetables are cooked through. Once done, remove from the oven and let set for 10 mins.
To serve, grate fresh lemon zest over the tart and perhaps even some freshly squeezed lemon juice, and some more roughly chopped herbs, if you’re so inclined.