Look at this Tofu and Pesto Small Potato Tart, isn’t it cute? Every now and then, you need to try to make something different. A different way to use potatoes, creating two small savory pies, vegetarian savory pies. How I came about making these small tarts, I honestly cannot tell you; I guess it is one of those things that came together on its own.
Even though I love sweet dishes, my preference goes out to savory; you’ll see that I have indeed more savory recipes on the blog than sweet. These Tofu and Pesto Small Potato Tarts may just be the right size for a brunch or a lunch. I made them in ceramic quiche forms of 4.5 inch-diameter.
Key to this dish is the cooking time. If you cook them too long you may burn the edges, however that is always preventable by covering the dishes with aluminum foil. Cooking them not long enough means the potatoes are not done and raw potatoes are no fun to eat.
How to make this small potato tart?
Peel and slice the potato, lengthwise and slice them thin. The thinner the better, as it is easier/faster to bake them until done. When you have these sliced, line your pie dishes or pie forms. I used 2 small ceramic quiche forms of 4.5 inch in diameter that I greased with olive oil.
Place the potato slices all touching each other in the middle, like a flower, and make sure the ends are standing up against the side of the dish. This makes for a more beautiful end result, as these parts of the potato will bake faster and will be browner than the rest. This also makes it a little trickier as these pieces can burn easily, so keep an eye on it. When they become too brown, cover the dishes with a piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
When your potatoes are in place, add the tofu, then the spinach and the sundried tomatoes. You can leave the spinach leaves whole, however I would cut off the stems. Slice the tofu thin and cut the sundried tomatoes in small pieces. Cover the bottom with tofu, then divide 1 tablespoon of basil pesto over the tofu. Cover with spinach leave and sprinkle with sundried tomato pieces (keep a few for decoration later). The pesto I used is very rich in garlic, but if you use one without it, add a little bit of garlic to add some flavor.
Last layer of the filling is the mozzarella cheese, again thin slices. Many thin slices cook easier and faster than a few thick slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
The top layer of this Tofu and Pesto Small Potato Tart is the same as the bottom, thin slices of potato. Arrange them, so they overlap and come together in the center. The edges will bake faster than the rest and become crispy. As mentioned earlier, keep an eye on the edges as the might burn. Crispy is delicious, burned potato isn’t.
Place the small tarts in the oven and bake for approx. 25 minutes. Take them out of the dish or form, place them on a small plate and decorate with the remaining pesto and sundried tomatoes. I added a few drops of oil to the pesto and ‘smeared’ some on the plate and dropped a tiny piece of sundried tomato in the pesto. Of course you can leave them in the dish, if you prefer.
Per tart, you’ll eat just half a potato, a little bit of tofu and mozzarella, so a wonderful brunch/lunch dish or part of a buffet.
Enjoy!
Tofu and Pesto Small Potato Tart
Ingredients
- 1 potato russet
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 ounces spinach
- 4 ounces tofu
- 3 sundried tomatoes
- 1.5 tablespoons basil pesto
- 4 ounces Mozzarella cheese
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Grease the small pie forms with olive oil and set aside.
- Peel the potatoes and slice them thin, lengthwise, making use of a mandoline.
- Wash the spinach, cut the mozzarella and tofu in thin slices and the sundried tomatoes in small pieces.
- Place the potato slices in the pie forms; like a flower. They need to overlap slightly and allow them to stand against the side of the pie form a little bit. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt.
- The next layer is tofu. Divide 1 tablespoon of pesto over the tofu.
- The following layer is the spinach and the sundried tomatoes (leave a few pieces for decoration). Divide spinach over the tofu. Last layer is thin mozzarella slices.
- Season with salt and pepper and cover with the remaining potato slices, in the same way as the bottom. Like a flower, overlap in the center, and against the potato slices of the bottom.
- Drizzle a little bit of oil on top of the tarts and place in the oven for approx. 25 minutes.
- When the tarts are done, take them out of the form and place them on small plates.
- Decorate with pesto and pieces of sundried tomatoes.
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