easy peasy tomato breezy

This is an easy 5 ingredient no recipe recipe- just tomatoes, cheese, basil, puff pastry, and olive oil (ok, ok, salt and pepper, but they don’t count)! To keep it super simple, I opted for store bought puff pastry instead of homemade. All you have to do is cut, assemble and throw these in the oven and just like that, you have flakey and delicious hand pies! This recipe is very adaptable, so if you want to add extra fillings (spinach, olives, red pepper flakes, chopped garlic, peppers, sautéed mushrooms, Parmesan ), go for it!

Skill Level- Easy

Shopping List:

• Tomatoes

• Vegan Feta

• Fresh Basil

• Olive Oil

• Vegan-Friendly Puff Pastry

  
  
  

Equipment:

• Baking sheet

• Parchment paper or silicon mat

• Knife

• Rolling pin (optional)

  
  Makes 4 pies but you can easily double the recipe for more.

Products used:

Links provided below-

• Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry- puff pastry is traditionally made with standard butter, but there are a few brands out there that don’t. I find that Pepperidge Farm is pretty easy to find in any run-of-the-mill grocery store.

• Violife Vegan Feta- I really like this Feta, but I’ve heard good things about the Follow Your Heart version as well. If you can’t find vegan feta, a good swap would be some vegan mozzarella.

  
  

Notes:

Oil- Use a nice extra virgin olive oil here for the baking and if you have a really good one, you can drizzle a little over the fresh baked pies once they’re out of the oven.

Prep:

• Defrost puff pastry according to your package directions ( typically, about 40 minutes ) before ready to use.

• Thinly slice tomatoes, cheese, and basil

  
  

INGREDIENTS:

• 1- 2 tomatoes (heirloom, vine ripe) or 2-3 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced or half a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved

• 4 oz. vegan feta or mozzarella (about 1/2 C )

• 1 sheet puff pastry (vegan-friendly)

• 8- 10 basil leaves, thinly cut strips (chiffonade)

• drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

• salt + pepper to taste

  
  
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F

2. Unfold thawed puff pastry sheet- I rolled out my sheet a bit with a rolling pin because my tomato slices where really big, but it’s not necessary and you can skip this step if you like.

3. Cut the pastry sheet into 4 equal parts and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon mat.

4. Add a couple of slices of tomato to the center of the each square of dough (leaving about a 1/2” perimeter around all sides).

5. Sprinkle the tomatoes with a little salt and pepper, then add the cheese and basil on top.

6. Fold up the 1/2” perimeter pieces, then use the tines of a fork to press down and secure the dough.

7. Drizzle olive oil over finished pies and use a pastry brush or your fingers to gently rub into the dough.

8. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of your oven and bake 12-15 minutes or until the puff pastry has turned golden brown.

9. When done, remove from oven and set on a cooling rack to cool for about 5 minutes.

10. If you like, finish with a drizzle of a good extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

11. Eat as an appetizer or serve with a salad to eat as a meal. Enjoy!

Storage and Use

1. Store pies in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days.

2. When ready to eat, heat the oven to 375 ° F for 5-7 minutes to warm through and re-crisp puff pastry.

See… easy, right? Hope you give these delicious little pies a try!

You are amazing! Thank you for being here,

xx Debbie, Shorty, + Sophie