Tomato, Tofu & Artichoke Puff Pizza!

It's been a few days since I've blogged and a couple of people have asked me what's happening with it, so it's spurred me on to pull my finger out and get in the kitchen again!

I've been meaning to make something with Puff Pastry for a while now. I bought some aaages ago and sadly.... didn't use it and had to throw it away!! BAD ANNEKE!

So I ventured out of the house this avo and got some, in preparation for a yummy, scrummy Puuuuuuufffff Pizzzaaaaaaa!!! :-D

INGREDIENTS
(serves 3)

A little oil for brushing and drizzling (I used the one from my sun-dried tomatoes)
½ teaspoon polenta (optional)
500g ready-made puff pastry (the one below is vegan!)
About 350g cherry tomatoes
3 Artichoke hearts, sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
A little extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil
100g Basil Infused Tofu (1/2 a block)
1 Tsp Thyme leaves (dried or fresh)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5.

• Lightly oil a baking sheet and scatter over a little fine polenta if you have some – this helps to keep the pastry really crisp.(Thanks Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for that tip!)

• Roll out the pastry fairly thinly (about 3mm thick) and trim to a rectangle just a bit bigger than your tray.

• Then cut a 1cm strip from each edge. Score the rectangle that's left about 1cm in from the edge. Then brush the strips with a little oil and stick on to the edges of the rectangle, to form a slightly raised border. Brush the edges with a little more oil.

• Thinly slice the tomatoes across into 2 – 3mm slices.
  
  
•  Slice all of your other ingredients.

• Scatter the garlic over the pastry, then arrange the sliced tomatoes on top

• Season with salt and pepper and trickle with a little oil.

• Bake for about 15 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender and lightly browned and the pastry is starting to puff and turn golden.


• Take the tart out of the oven, scatter over the tofu, asparagus & thyme and put back in the oven.
• Bake for another 10 minutes or so, until the tofu is starting to curl and the pastry golden brown.
• On removing from the oven, scatter the sliced sun-dried tomatoes over.
  
  
• Serve with a salad of your choice and enjoy!

• VERDICT
  
  I really enjoyed this! Loads of depth of flavour, the pastry was lovely and crisp, not soggy and it was actually quite filling. One of my friends asked me "Where's the Cheese?" I always used to think this but believe me, with the tofu, you don't miss it.  10/10 for taste, 5/10 for presentation! Ah well ay!
  
  
  NOTE - VEGAN MAYO
  I had this with a bit of vegan mayo! I love mayo and along with cheese, it was one of the things that worried me the most about going Vegan. Fear not! There are a couple of brands sold at our local health food shop and they both taste like mayo! So I'm a happy bunny. I thought I'd add a picture, just to show you that you don't have to feel like you're missing out when going Vegan ;)

ANOTHER NOTE - TOFU

Alot of people recoil in horror when I mention Tofu. They say "Ewwww.... no, I've tried that before and it's all.... slimy!!!"

Not the one I use. Granted, I use the one you might think is slimy - it's this one:

This Tofu requires pressing to make it workable (unless you want to scramble it like egg) but it is very wet and almost jelly-like.

The one I used in this recipe is similar to a firm, springy cheese. It's not juicy and wet, it's quite dry and it's infused with basil. I like to use it in sandwiches, chopped up and thrown in pasta and it worked a dream in this recipe. It also comes in smoked and plain. It's this brand.