New Recipe 🍅 Roasted Cherry Tomato & Fresh Basil Pesto Tart
Celebrate spring with fresh ingredients
Hi there! Happy Tuesday 😊
It’s been a busy few days in the garden as we get everything ready before heading to Ireland for two weeks. The tomato plants are ready to go in the ground, and I’m already getting excited for all the summer harvests and the delicious recipes that come with them.
One of my favourites is this Cherry Tomato and Basil Pesto Tart – just one of many dishes I’ve created to make the most of our garden produce. Today, I whipped up a vegan oregano pesto to use some of the oregano that’s been taking over the top of my pepper plants. I’d never made it before, but it turns out this spot is perfect for growing oregano—it’s absolutely thriving!
The pesto turned out really tasty—different from the usual basil version, but still super flavorful. I made it with macadamia nuts, nutritional yeast, loads of oregano, a few basil leaves, olive oil, and sea salt. If you’d like the recipe, just let me know and I’ll happily share it!
Yesterday, I also froze a big batch of Swiss chard using up the huge leaves that really needed harvesting.
Do you have a veggie garden too? I’d love to hear what you’re growing!
Ingredients to make this beautiful Late-spring or Summer Tart
8,5 oz Vegan Puff Pastry. I stopped buying pastry for a long time as I assumed it was made with butter, but to my surprise, most brands use margarine or another plant-based fat to make them.
1 cup pesto. Check out how to make your own pesto here. You can also use my oregano pesto recipe if you want to try something different, or buy it already made.
17-18 oz of Cherry tomatoes. You can use any type of cherry tomatoes you like. Smaller, larger, yellow, or red. Choose whatever you like or have in your garden.
That’s it, only three ingredients are needed for this super-easy recipe. If you are making the pesto from scratch, it will take you maybe 5 minutes longer 😅.
Here are the ingredients to make the pesto from scratch (note that the amounts on our website can differ; as for the website, we made a big batch).
2,5 cups of fresh basil leaves. You'll need fresh basil to make your pesto. There are different types of basil, so make sure you're using a basil plant that has big leaves. You can also make basil with purple basil, which we've tried before, and the taste is very similar.
1/3 cup of olive oil.
1/4 cup pine nuts. I use pine nuts for my vegan pesto to keep this recipe as original as possible. Now, I know pine nuts can be very expensive, so you're more than welcome to use other types of nuts. If we don't have pine nuts, we normally add cashews or Macadamia nuts (like I did today for my oregano pesto).
1/4 yeast flakes. This is our substitute for the parmesan that goes in the classic pesto. Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy flavor to the sauce. Check out some substitutes for nutritional yeast if you don't have this ingredient.
1 garlic clove.
Cooking Method
First, if you’re making the pesto from scratch, you’ll need to add all the pesto ingredients in a blender jug or food processor and blend until you have a smooth pesto sauce. For this part, I got my little helper.
Now, roll out the puff pastry and fold the edges to create a crust. We recommend piercing the pastry with a fork a few times to make sure you don’t get air bubbles while baking the tart.
Spread the fresh pesto or store-bought pesto evenly.
Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes. If you’re using different types of cherry tomatoes, slice them to a similar size to ensure that they all cook evenly. If you are using one type of cherry tomato, a good trick to cut it fast is to place it between two plates or lids and slice it with a sharp knife (working horizontally) while putting some pressure on it.
Place the cherry tomatoes that are already sliced on the tart. Make sure they cover the whole surface; otherwise, the pesto will dry while baking.
You can bake the cherry tomatoes before, but we think it’s not necessary. We like them to have a bit of crunch and not be completely soft, so we bake everything at the same time, making it way easier and still delicious!
Bake for about 20 minutes at 400°f (200°c), or until the crust is golden brown and crispy.
Before serving, you can add different toppings. These are some that we normally add:
Vegan feta
Fresh rocket salad
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
Pine nuts
Fresh basil leaves
Black olives
We love how simple this recipe is, and that’s probably why we keep making it every year! We can quickly make it those days that we come back home a bit late, for a potluck type of dinner, to bring over to a family lunch as an appetiser, or even make it as a snack to have by the pool.
Kids love it, especially when they harvest the tomatoes themselves and help out making the pesto and adding all the ingredients to the tart. This is such a great recipe to make with your family if you have little ones.
Let me know if you have any questions; I’ll be happy to help!
Love,
Laura.