Fennel Sausage, Pesto, and Plum Tarts

Servings

Four

Ready In:

About an hour

Good For:

Dinner

Fennel Sausage, Pesto, and Plum Tart

Ingredients

2 frozen pie shells
2 fennel sausages (pork, chicken, beef –
your call!)
4 plums, sliced into 6ths
1 onion, cubed
½ loose c baby spinach
4 tbsp basil pesto
Sprinkle of salt & pepper
1 c mozzarella, grated

Salad
4 c baby spinach
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
½ c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 English cucumber, chopped
Drizzle of olive oil
Drizzle of balsamic vinegar

So, I went to the store to buy mozzarella and came home with coffee filters! In the photos I have used Asiago cheese (because that’s what was in the fridge!), but mozzarella would have been much better. Go for mozzarella!

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

In a large heavy skillet sauté onions in a tsp of butter until they are translucent and beginning to brown. Remove them to a plate when they are done. Cook the sausages alongside the onions until they are cooked through – about 15 minutes depending on the size of the sausages.

Step 2

Set oven to 400°

While the sausages are cooking take the pie crusts out of the package, remove them from the aluminum tins, and place each crust on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes until they thaw and the dough is pliable.

Step 3

When the pie crusts have thawed press the edges out a bit and down and over to create a bit of a lip so that they are more or less flat with a ridge around the edge.

When the sausages are done let them cool a minute then cut them into thin rounds and set aside.

Step 4

Spread half of the pesto over each pie shell and share the sautéed onions overtop. Arrange the sausage rounds on top of the onions (1 sausage per crust), then scatter a little mozzarella overtop of the sausage – just a bit of cheese here. Reserve most of the mozzarella for the top of the tarts.

Next scatter a few leaves of baby spinach over each tart, and then place the plums on top of the spinach. Sprinkle each tart with a little salt and pepper then share the rest of the grated mozzarella on top.

Step 5

Pop the tarts into the oven side by side for 10 minutes at 400° then lower the heat to 350° for a further 8 minutes or so until the edges of the tart and the cheese are golden brown. Keep a close eye on the tarts during their last minutes in the oven so that they don’t burn. When the tarts are done remove them from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes before cutting into them.

Step 6

While the tarts are in the oven put your salad together. Place all salad ingredients into a bowl along with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic. Toss well and serve your salad over 4 plates. After the tarts have rested cut them into quarters or sixths. Share the slices beside the salad then sit down and enjoy this tasty treat of a dinner!