Roasted Veggie Puff Pastry

What’s not to like about this scrumptious puff pastry, topped with flavorful caramelized roasted veggies and fresh goat cheese?

INGREDIENTS

• 6-7 mid-sized tomatoes
• A half of a red onion
• Half of a zucchini
• 5-6 mushrooms
• Half of a yellow or red bell pepper
• Two garlic cloves
• ¼ cup of halved Kalamata olives
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
• ¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
• ¾ cup shredded mozzarella
• ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan
• One 10×10-inch thawed puff pastry sheet (I use Pepperidge Farm)
• Fresh goat cheese to top
• Parsley leaves to sprinkle

Start by thawing the puff pastry sheet and covering it with plastic film so it won’t dry out. Then, pre-heat the oven to 350F (180C).
Roughly cut the tomatoes into quarters. Do the same with the red onion, then separate the layers into singles or doubles. Cut the zucchini into rough quarters and slice the mushrooms. Roughly cut the bell peppers and slice the two garlic cloves.
Add the cut-up vegetables to a 10×10-inch baking dish, salt and pepper to taste, add the thyme leaves and oil, and mix well to coat.
Place the veggies in the preheated oven and set your timer for 45-50min.
Once they are done, take them out and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan on top.
Use a spatula to pull the roasted vegetables away from the baking dish edges. This will help the crust to develop a nice crispy edge.
Carefully place the thawed puff pastry sheet over the roasted veggies like a blanket and tuck the edges around them.
I usually measure the puff pastry to fit nicely in my baking dish. You can roll it out slightly if it’s not large enough. But don’t thin it out too much – 1/4 an inch on each margin will be enough.
Place the baking tray back in the 350F oven and set your timer for 30 minutes or until the pastry turns golden brown.
Take the baking tray out of the oven, cover it with a large chopping board, turn it over, and bang it a couple of times against the counter so the pastry will come loose.
Add a few dollops of fresh goat cheese, sprinkle with some parsley or basil leaves, cut it up, and serve it while hot.

NOTE: you can definitely vary the vegetable choices and amounts. You can definitely increase the amounts I used here since the vegies will reduce in size while roasting.