Parmesan, Fennel and Carrot Tart

If autumn was a tart, this would be it! This beauty is herbaceous, salt & vinegary, and oh so cheesy. It's also marvellously simple and quick to put together, for a perfect autumnal weeknight dinner. Altogether this took me under 30 minutes to make - the secret ingredient is store bought all butter puff pastry; because who can be bothered to make puff after a long days work. Read ahead now for the recipe!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 sheet of all butter puff pastry

• 1 small brown onion

• 1 small fennel bulb

• 2 carrots (I used yellow and orange)

• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

• 50grams of butter

• 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano

• 1 egg, lightly beaten for eggwash

• 1/3 cup of grated good quality parmesan cheese

• optional; flat leaf parsley for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

• Pre-heat the oven to 210°C fan forced (230°C or 445°F). Place baking paper on a baking tray and set aside.

• Crimp the edges of the puff pastry with a fork, place on the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes while you make the topping.

• Finely slice fennel and onion lengthways, then thinly slice the carrots into rounds.

• In a fry pan on medium heat add butter, olive oil, fennel and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for around 7 minutes or until softened. Add oregano, salt, pepper, carrots, and red wine vinegar to de-glaze the pan. Cook for a further 5 minutes until the carrots are slightly softened.

• Take the puff pastry out of the oven and brush around the edges with the egg wash. Gently spoon the carrot and fennel mixture onto the puff pastry and spread out to form an even layer. Sprinkle over grated parmesan and put back into the oven for 10 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden brown colour.

• Top with parsley if you are using, and serve immediately while still warm.

Notes: This tart will be good for leftovers the next day, but the pastry will lose quality any longer than that.