PROVENÇAL PUFF PASTRY CROWN

This is a delicious recipe that I have adapted from one on the Thermomix. In fact, I only used the TM for the pastry, but then I changed the rest of the recipe. It is a fantastic vegetarian dish with lovely flavours. It takes a while to do the pastry, but it is really worth it. It could be a fantastic dish to be shared as part of a feast. And it looks gorgeous too.

Ingredients

Puff pastry

150 g of butter (frozen in small pieces of 1-2 cm)
150 g pastry flour
65 g cold water
1 pinch of salt

Filling and assembly

1 zucchini, sliced 2 mm lengthwise
1 small eggplant, sliced 2 mm lengthwise
1 yellow capsicum, cut in small strips
8 cherry tomatoes in halves
8 mini bocconcini in halves

a pinch of garlic powder

1 - 2 sprigs of fresh basil (leaves only) cut into pieces
50gr feta cheese, crumbed
Extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of dried Provençal herbs
2 - 3 pinches of salt
1 pinch of ground black pepper
1 beaten egg
2 pinches of dried oregano

Difficulty = medium
Preparation time = 30 min
Total time = 2 h.
Serving size = 8 portions

Preparation

Puff pastry (THERMOMIX)

Put the butter, flour, water and salt in the glass and mix for 20 sec/speed 6. Remove the dough from the bowl, it will look like crumbs, compact it and flatten it into a square shape. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to stretch the dough into a rectangle 3 times longer than it is wide (approx. 60x20 cm). Fold the dough into three parts lengthwise and turn the resulting square a quarter turn so that the fold is on the left side. Repeat the process of stretching and folding the dough twice more and put it back in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, or in the freezer for 5 minutes. Wash the bowl.

Filling and assembly

Preheat the oven grill to medium.

Line two baking trays with aluminium foil.

Lay the prepared zucchini and eggplant on the trays and brush with olive oil.

Grill the eggplant for about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Grill the zucchini for about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Put the tomatoes, cut in half, and the capsicum in a bowl. Add a little splash of oil and mix well. Transfer to a baking tray and sprinkle the tomatoes with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook under the grill for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.

Unwrap the dough. Roll out the dough with the rolling pin and give it a round shape (approx. Ø 24 cm).

Place on the prepared baking tray and, starting from the centre and towards the edge, make 8 star-shaped cuts (8 triangles) of approx. 7 cm.

Top with the crumbled feta. Spread the zucchini and eggplant, cherry tomatoes, bocconcini, capsicum and basil around the edge of the dough. Water with a dash of oil, sprinkle with 2-3 pinches of salt and 1 pinch of ground pepper and the Provençal herbs.