My very dear friend and pastry chef extraordinaire Or’Shaundra offered to host Friendsgiving this year so naturally we challenged ourselves to a sweet and savory pie theme. I’m not generally a huge fan of ricotta cheese, but I’ve been meaning to make this elegant vegetable rose tart which is reminiscent of cheesy blintzes and a vegetable quiche all rolled into one dish which features 10 easy ingredients that just SCREAM holidays like nutmeg, cream and sweet carrots. The real surprising ingredient here is the puff pastry crust which sssssshhhh I bought in the frozen section of the grocery store!

Ingredients

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup cubed fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves stripped
• salt to taste
• 6 carrots, assorted colors
• 2 zucchini
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Press puff pastry into pie dish, trim off excess pastry edges. Cover the pastry with parchment paper and fill with ceramic pie weights (I used ramekins) and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven; remove parchment paper and pie weights. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Mix ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, thyme, and salt together in a bowl. Spoon filling into crust and smooth out the top. Slice carrots and zucchini lengthwise into thin strips using a mandoline then place strips on a microwave-safe plate and cook in the microwave until slightly soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Roll 1 vegetable strip tightly into a rosebud shape. Wrap another strip of the same vegetable around to make a full rose shape. Repeat with remaining strips. Arrange carrot and zucchini roses over the filling in a decorative pattern, alternating colors; brush with olive oil. Bake tart for about 40 minutes.

Recipes to feature soon: apple pie and vegetarian Shepard’s pie! mmmmmmmmmmmm