My friend Melissa (at Smells Like Brownies) and I are trying to make our lunch date a weekly thing, so hopefully these posts will become more frequent. The last two times we made quinoa dishes, so we wanted to stay away from that this time. I saw this recipe for a broccolini and feta galette that looked yummy, but thought it might be even better on puff pastry like this broccoli rabe tart. I suggested this to Melissa, who agreed it sounded delish, and she decided to attempt making the puff pastry herself!
I was super impressed that she was willing to take that on – brave woman! But she said that it wasn’t as difficult as she thought it was going to be, so I may have to try it myself. I mean, it was pretty freaking delicious. I believe she used this recipe, and I will add a link to her blog when she posts about it.
So, we pressed the beautiful dough into a pan (through we probably should have used a bigger one, as the crust ended up being pretty thick), and layered it with blanched broccolini, feta, garlic, scallions, and pine nuts. Then we baked it at 350 until the crust was golden, adding some Parmesan towards the end. This took a while because the dough was a bit thick, but it was so worth it!
Last week was actually the first time I had cooked with broccolini and I really liked it. Poor Jasper is always requesting broccoli, but I never make it because I don’t like it. And I always feel bad because it is a super nutritious vegetable and one of the few that he really likes. Now that I have discovered how easy and delicious broccolini is, I hope that Jasper will accept it as a replacement for broccoli and we can both be happy!
This tart was so buttery, and flaky, and cheesy, and delicious – a totally decadent treat but we can pretend that it’s healthy because of the broccolini, right? You’ll want to serve it with a salad to prevent yourself from eating the whole thing in one sitting. I also highly recommend the feta that I get at Whole Foods made with sheep and goat milk. It is so creamy and rich and just totally awesome.
Broccolini and Feta Tart
serves 2-6
1 sheet puff pastry
1 bunch broccolini
8 oz feta
1 clove garlic
1-2 tbsp pine nuts
1-2 tbsp scallion greens
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out the puff pastry and fit into a pan. Bake for a few minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
Blanch the broccolini in boiling water for 1 minute, then remove to ice water. Dry the broccolini thoroughly with paper towels. Chop or crumble the feta and mince the garlic.
Remove the puff pastry from the oven, press down with a spatula if needed. Lay the broccolini across the dough, season with salt (lightly) and pepper and sprinkle with garlic. Top with the feta, scallions, and pine nuts.
Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden brown. Sprinkle with Parmesan about 5-10 minutes from the end.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before cutting.