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Ricotta, pea and pesto tart

  • elocal magazine By elocal magazine
  • Jun 26, 2025

Incredibly simple to make, this fresh and  green tart is destined to be a crowd-pleaser. Plus, made with sweet baby frozen peas, it brings back all the freshness and warmth of summer! 




Ingredients

  • 1 x 320g packet ready-rolled puff pastry
  • 150-200g frozen baby peas (minted if you like them)
  • 250g ricotta
  • 1 egg
  • Zest and juice of ½ lemon
  • 4 tbsp Genovese basil pesto

Method


  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan
  2. Unroll 1 x 320g packet ready-rolled puff pastry and lay it on a non-stick baking tray. Score along each side of the pastry, around 3cm in from the edges, to create a border – take care not to cut all the way through the pastry. Prick inside the border all over with a fork.
  3. Bake in the hot oven for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown and puffed up.
  4. While the pastry cooks, tip 150g peas into a heatproof bowl – if you’d like to scatter some whole peas over the top for decoration, use 200g. Pour freshly boiled water over the peas and leave for 2 minutes to defrost, and then drain.
  5. Put 150g of the peas, 175g of the ricotta, 1 egg, and the zest and juice of ½ lemon into a blender with a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  6. Pulse until combined and the peas have broken down a little – you can go as chunky as you like here.
  7. Remove the pastry from the oven and, using a spoon or fork, push down the puffed pastry inside the border to create a pastry case.
  8. Spread the pea and ricotta mixture over the centre of the pastry case – it’s easier to start from the outside and work your way in. Return the tart to the hot oven for 8 minutes.
  9. Remove the tart from the oven, and then dot over the remaining 75g ricotta, scatter over 50g whole peas, if using, and spoon dollops of 4 tbsp Genovese basil pesto on top.
  10. Bake in the hot oven for 10-15 minutes or until the ricotta is a little golden and the pastry is golden and cooked through.

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