🎅LG,BE’s 12 Days of Christmas🎅

DAY 3

Does anybody else get super excited when they see something with puff pastry? Or is that just me?

Puff pastry makes me think of fine-dining restaurants or super chic brunches with the girls. It adds an element of sophistication and really is not too hard of a product to work with, so long as you remember to let it thaw in time before you use it! So I thought, if I can find a way to use it in a home-cook friendly recipe… I’m game, are you?

INGREDIENTS

• 1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed to room temperature**
• 1 cup of gruyere cheese, grated/shredded
• 1 cup of fine ricotta, the smoother the better
• 1 zest of a lemon and 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated
• 4 medium size white/gold flesh potatoes, thinly sliced into coins
• 1 tbsp of fresh thyme leaves
• 1/4 tsp of red chilli flakes, optional
• 1/4 cup of parmesan for serving
• 1/4 tsp of white wine vinegar
• olive oil, S+P

**I’ve found that if you let the puff pastry dough thaw outside of the fridge in it’s individual packaging for about 2-2.5 hours, it’s very workable. Another option is to let it thaw overnight in the fridge and let it come to room temperature before using it.

While you wait for the oven to preheat to 400ºF, start prepping some of the ingredients such as the cheese mixture and the potatoes. In a small bowl, add the ricotta, lemon juice and zest, garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Next, slice your potatoes into thin coins – about 1/4 inch if you can. In another bowl, place your potatoes, about a tablespoon of olive oil, more salt and pepper and the fresh thyme. Mix together to coat the potato slices and set aside as well.

Next, take your puffed pastry and slice it into four squares and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Take your knife and gently score a 1.5cm border for each pastry square — when this bakes, it will become the edge of your tart. Using a fork, aerate the puff pastry by pricking a few times.

Next, using a cheese spreader or butter knife, spread the ricotta mixture into the middle of the puff pastry square and sprinkle with the gruyere cheese evenly over each. Begin layering your potato coins in the centre of the pastry square to create a fish scale look. Be sure to drain the potatoes of excess liquid before you place them on the pastry so that you do not have too much added moisture.

Season once more with a bit of salt and pepper over each before baking them in the oven for up to 28 minutes on the middle rack., or until potatoes are tender and the puff pastry has turned a beautiful golden brown.

To serve, you can grate more lemon zest over top, sprinkle fresh parmesan cheese for that added saltiness, drizzle the white wine vinegar to cut through the richness OR add a bit of the red pepper flakes for some heat.

As always, peace and good eats guys!
-A❁