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Courgette pizzette
Makes 8-10 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 1 small courgette, cut into 3-5mm-thick rounds
- 320g ready-rolled puff pastry sheet
- 1 x 400g can peeled plum tomatoes, drained, chopped, then drained again
- 25g mozzarella, chopped
- 50g pecorino, grated
- small bunch thyme
Method
Heat the oven to 200C/400F/ Gas 6. Heat a griddle pan and arrange the courgette slices on it. Cook over a medium-to-high heat for 3 minutes, or until chargrilled and blistered on both sides. Season with salt. Remove from the griddle and set aside.
For the bases, lay out the puff pastry on a work surface and use a pastry cutter to cut out 7-8cm rounds (roughly the size of the base of the tomato tin, if you don’t have a cutter the right size). Arrange them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving plenty of space between each one. Using a sharp knife, score a circle on each pastry round to make a 1cm border – be careful not to cut right through. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden.
Remove the pizzette bases from the oven and gently push down the pastry if it has puffed up at the centre – you need to create a hollow. Spoon 1 heaped tsp of drained tomatoes into the hollow of each one. Combine the mozzarella and pecorino in a bowl, then put a generous spoonful on the tomato, so that it is almost hidden under a layer of cheese. Top with a couple of slices of the grilled courgette and a few thyme leaves.
Return the pizzette to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden. They are best eaten straight from the oven but will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container.
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