September started but it’s still summer after all. So yesterday I baked this pepper and ricotta tart. The sweetness of the peppers goes perfectly with the delicate ricotta flavour. It’s so easy and quick to prepare and you can serve it for a light lunch with a salad on the side or for BBQs or a parties cut into small squares.
The recipe is for 4-6 people and for a 22 cm round/square tin. I used puff pastry but you can swap it with shorthcrust pastry if you prefer. Fews ingredients: only ricotta cheese, 1 egg, sweet paprika and peppers. You can of course add other ingredients like small dices of bacon or some grated cheddar, but I suggest to keep it simple to taste the peppers. The paprika just add that extra flavour you need without overcoming the rest of the ingredients.
Bell pepper and ricotta tart
Ingredients
- ready-rolled puff pastry: 375 grams
- red pepper: 1
- yellow pepper: 1
- ricotta cheese: 400 grams
- medium eggs: 1
- sweet paprika: 1 tsp
- extra virgin olive oil as needed
- sea salt to taste
- ground pepper to taste
- fresh basil
- fresh oregano
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
- Wash the peppers, cut in half and remove all the seeds. Slice into thin strips.
- Heat about a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a pan and stir fry the pepper slices. Season with salt and pepper. Do not over cook the peppers but keep them a bit crunchy. Set aside.
- Put the ricotta and the egg into a bowl. Add the paprika, season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Choose a baking tin that is similar in size to the puff pastry sheet (about 22 cm), you may need to roll the pastry slightly to make it fit. Line the tin with the pastry, making sure the pastry goes up the sides of the tin. Prick the bottom using a fork.
- Pour the ricotta mixture over the puff pastry and spread it evenly using a spatula or the back of a spoon. Top with the pepper slices.
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden and the ricotta set.
- Serve warm with some basil and oregano leaves on top.
