Donna Hay Tarts

Ok, so they're not really by the infamous Donna Hay, but that's what I've been calling these for a few years since I first resorted to cutting a few corners in the quest to create some quick tarts to take to a picnic with a vegetarian friend.

I mentioned these to (Donna fan) Angry Chicken a few weeks ago and finally had a chance to make them yesterday (public holiday here- a friend came over and joined me for a sewing bee).

But why Donna Hay tarts? Because they are pretty quick, very easy, exceptionally tasty and rather photogenic.

Ingredients:
[makes 8 luncheon tarts or 18 cocktail tarts]
4 medium tomatoes
100gm fetta (I like Bulgarian Fetta)
Pesto
a splash of balsamic vinegar
2 sheets frozen puff pastry

Method:
Heat the oven up to 220degC and remove the pastry from the freezer to allow it to thaw a little

Chop up tomatoes and fetta and mix together in a bowl with a couple of spoonfuls of pesto (to taste) and a splash of balsamic



Cut each sheet of pastry into 4 squares [or 9 if making cocktail tarts] and gently prod into large sized muffin tray so that the pastry forms folds with corner peaks



Loosely fill them up with the tomato mixture and pop them in the hot oven for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is nicely puffed and browned



Enjoy for lunch on the front deck, with a good friend and a side salad picked from the lettuce growing in the sun on the porch. They taste especially nice if the aforementioned good friend helps chop the tomatoes and joins you for an afternoon of sewing.



I must say I've never quite managed to figure out how to make the bottoms perfectly crisp, but this doesn't seem to deter the eaters... The secret of the filling and puff pastry method have been shared with many, many friends, who have experimented with the fillings, including tomato, olive and preserved lemon tarts and potato and blue cheese quiches. Please do share and experiment yourself!