TARTE SOLEIL - THREE WAYS

This is hands down the easiest and most impressive AND yummiest thing you can bring to a gathering when required to bring something! We have had Xmas dinners, lunches, morning teas etc coming to us from all sides and on Sunday for barefoot bowling, this was something I whipped up in less than an hour. (You can see by the rushed twisting and camera shots! But hey they were a hit!) So a Tarte Soleil is a French appetiser, consisting of flaky puff pastry and some type of simple filling such as pesto, cheese, tapenade etc. I knew there was going to be little humans there so I made a plain cheese for the little ones, a homemade green olive tapenade and a sweet version, Nutella for everyone! 

There are loads of recipes online which are pretty much all the same, but with variations of fillings and how many twists in each section of pastry. The formula is pretty much just two sheets of pastry, a filling, some cutting and twisting and voila, you have a very delicious and fancy looking dish to take to your next Xmas shindig.

Tarte Soleil Three Ways

6 sheets of ready made frozen puff pastry

1/2 cup grated cheese / 1/4 cup tapenade / 3 heaped tablespoons of Nutella

1 egg, lightly beaten.

Preheat oven to 220 deg C (or 200 deg C fan forced) 

LIne three baking trays with baking paper

Lay the sheets of puff pastry on a clean work surface 

I keep the plastic underneath so it doesn't stick to the bench

Using a plate to guide a circle shape gently place it on top of one of the sheets and cut around it to make a circle. Try to make your circle as large as you can so you are not wasting pastry

Use this sheet of pastry as a template to lay on top to cut the other 5 sheets

Place a circle on a baking tray

For the cheese:

Sprinkle 1/3 cup of cheese on a sheet of pastry 

For Tapenade:

Gently spread the tapenade out leaving 1/2-1 inch at the edge, sprinkle with remaining cheese.

For the Nutella:

Gently spread the Nutella out leaving 1/2-1 inch at the edge.

Assembly:

Place another sheet on top so it matches closely.

Using a tumbler glass or mug gently place in the centre and press lightly to make an indent.

With a pizza cutter or sharp knife begin to slice the pastry into sections but only up to the indented line the glass/mug has made- so you end up with a circle in the centre and you are slicing/creating the 'rays' of the sun.

I like to create quarters first then cut those quarters into halves then halve them again so each quarter contains four rays each. So in total, you should have 16 'rays' (Woah, go Maths!)

Using your hands begin twisting each 'ray' by gently lifting it a little and turning it over 2-3 times

Place it back down lightly pressing the ends together and onto the tray to make it stay in place (don't worry if it gets a bit slippery and messy it will be fine once baked!)

Brush with egg wash and place in the oven to bake for approx. 20 minutes until golden and puffed

Serve warm or at room temperature

Suggestions:

Dust the Nutella with icing sugar

Sprinkle fresh herbs on the savoury ones

You could also add a dip to accompany the savoury ones such as a chilli mayo or tomato jam for the plain cheese and a whipped fetta for the tapenade. 

And if serving at home for a luncheon or dinner party you could dollop a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream on the Nutella one while still warm and hoe into it as a share plate - ZOMG!!!

Enjoy!