This recipe my friends was a labor of love. I have a love/ hate relationship with baking. I love the end result (when it turns out sans mistakes) but the process is tricky for me because I am so comfortable cooking without measuring out ingredients. The plus side is that I have made this dough a few times and I’m happy to say I’ve got this one down.

The classic French dough, called Påte Brisée is perfect for a savory tart crust. It’s a little bit delicate but I promise this recipe will get you through.

A key to making this recipe work is to start with very cold ingredients- cube up the butter and portion out your flour and let it sit in the fridge or freezer.

 

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour until the dough is firm.

 

The end result yields a rich and buttery flavor and a crumbly texture.

This may look pretty funny but doing the first bake with beans or pastry weights keeps the crust from burning but allows the edges to get beautifully golden.

 

Once I hit this point it was smooth sailing- the crust was done and I was off to create the filling. Starting off with a basil pesto.

 

I LOVE pesto! It is so versatile and you can make it with a basil base, a sun-dried tomato base, a ramp base… it’s just so great.

 

Roasted veggies make my heart smile!

 

Roasted veggies with pesto and goat cheese… my heart is smiling and doing a happy dance!

Påte Brisée

Ingredients: Makes 2 8in crusts

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice cold water

Recipe:

In the bowl of a food processor combine the flour and salt. Add the butter and pulse to combine until the mixture resembles course crumbles (about 10-30 seconds.) Then add the water, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Test the dough by squeezing it between your fingers; if it is still to crumbly, add a touch more water. Divide the dough into 2. Turn the dough out onto a countertop over some plastic wrap and fold together into a disk shape. Wrap in the plastic and keep in the fridge for at least an hour. You can also freeze for up to one month.

After an hour preheat the oven to 400 degrees and gently roll out the dough. Transfer to a pie tin. Line the inside with parchment paper and fill with beans or pie weights. Make sure the edges of the crust are visible so they bake. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the crust is a light golden color.

Let sit on the counter and cool before removing from the tin.

Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh basil

2 Tbsp toasted slivered almonds

1 garlic clove

1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

S&P to taste

Recipe:

In a food processor add the ingredients and pulse to desired consistency. Easy enough, right?

Roasted Vegetables + Sautéed Spinach

Ingredients:

4 vine ripe tomatoes- deseeded and sliced

1 1/2 cup artichoke hearts, sliced in half

2 shallots, diced into chunks

3 cups spinach

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a greased baking sheet lay out veggies and bake for 25-30 minutes.

At the same time heat a sauteed pan and with some olive oil sauté the spinach just to wilted.

Assembly time

First remove the cooled crust from the pie tin. Spread a layer of pesto at the base. Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of goat cheese on top of the pesto. Layer roasted veggies and sautéed  spinach. Add more goat cheese if you are feeling rebellious and dive in!

 

It may seem like a great deal of work, but the end result was so worth it!

 

Happy eating!