Pesto puff plait
Serves: 4 as a main, 6 as a sharing dish
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Stuart West
Pesto puff plait
A cheesy tear-and-share pastry loaded with pesto, tomato and mozzarella
Serves: 4 as a main, 6 as a sharing dish
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
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Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Ingredients
- 3 plum tomatoes
- a 320g sheet of ready rolled puff pastry*
- 3 tbsp pesto* (we used chilled Belazu pesto)
- 125g ball mozzarella*
- beaten egg
Step by step
- Preheat a large baking tray in the oven at 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7. Thickly slice the tomatoes, salt lightly and drain in a colander.
- Unroll the sheet of ready- rolled puff pastry lengthways, keeping it on its baking paper. Spread 3 tbsp pesto down the centre, leaving 5cm at the top and bottom. Thinly slice a ball of mozzarella. Pat the tomatoes and mozzarella dry on kitchen paper then place on top of the pesto, grinding on pepper.
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Make diagonal cuts in the pastry on either side of the filling. Fold in to create a lattice effect, brush with beaten egg and bake on the tray for 25 minutes, until brown and crisp. Cool for 10 minutes then slice.
*Use vegetarian pesto and cheese, and/or gluten-free pastry, if required.
