autumn sun cake

I love savoury tarts, I have always found them very versatile and perfect to serve as a dinner, starter or even as an appetizer. In addition, it is a preparation that allows us to prepare it in advance so that we do not have to serve it when we need it. I was looking for some new ideas to prepare savoury tarts when I came across a sun-shaped tart from the blog Saines Gourmandises . I thought it was absolutely beautiful, so I had to adapt it to bring you this Autumn Sun Tart .

We are in a time of year when we can enjoy a lot of fantastic ingredients and I have tried to use some of them for today's recipe. As well as some others such as rye, oregano, watercress... to give it a rustic and very aromatic touch.

The base of our cake will be very simple

To make it, we only need to mix the ingredients and stretch the dough. No leavening or resting, a really easy base to prepare and with a surprising result. Among the ingredients you will find rye flour , I know that some of you are not very fond of this cereal. For those who do not like it or cannot find it easily, you can replace it with whole wheat flour, spelt... Whatever you prefer.

Then we'll add flavour with a pesto of watercress, dill and peanuts . I assure you that it's absolutely addictive, you could almost eat it by the spoonful! I use it for pizzas, savoury pie bases, sandwiches, hamburgers, vegetable toasts... It goes great with a ton of ingredients. Just like the base, preparing a pesto is very easy.

We just have to put all the ingredients in our KitchenAid chopper , process and that's it. To keep it in perfect condition, I recommend storing it in an airtight glass container , covering the surface with olive oil and refrigerating it. This way we will prevent the top from drying out or spoiling.

The ingredients of the Autumn Sun Cake

Of course, all the ingredients can be substituted for others that you like more in case some of them are not to your liking. In my case, I used zucchini, pumpkin and onion. We will sauté them with a little olive oil before placing them on the cake to prevent them from releasing excess water during baking.

Then we will decorate with almonds, fresh dill, rosemary, a few flakes of Parmesan, almond oil and white truffle salt . The combination is very aromatic, very autumnal and very addictive!

Laura Ashley De Buyer perforated tray and serving paddle

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 90 g whole rye flour
• 110 g of strong wheat flour
• 100 g of water
• 12 g of white wine
• 15 g olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the watercress and dill pesto:

• 60 g of watercress
• 25 g fresh dill
• 125 g olive oil
• 100 g Parmesan
• 75 g roasted peanuts
• 1 large garlic clove
• Salt to taste

For the filling:

• 1 zucchini, approximately 500 g
• 1 large onion
• 150 g pumpkin cut into thin slices
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil + 2 tablespoons
• Salt and black pepper to taste

To decorate:

• Sliced ​​almonds
• 3-4 teaspoons of almond oil
• Parmesan flakes
• Fresh and dried dill
• Dried rosemary
• White truffle salt

Elaboration

We prepare the watercress and dill pesto

1. Wash the watercress and dill under cold water and dry carefully. Remove the wide stems from the dill and keep only the leaves.
2. In the KitchenAid food processor, add the watercress along with the dill and oil. Process well until you obtain a deep green paste.
3. Add the peanuts along with the Parmesan and garlic. Process again until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.
4. We taste and adjust the salt if necessary.
5. Pour the mixture into an airtight container , cover with olive oil and refrigerate until ready to use.

We sauté the vegetables

1. We wash the zucchini very well, dry it and cut it into very thin slices. We set it aside.
2. We cut the onion into small squares and set aside.
3. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat with olive oil. Once it reaches temperature, add the onion.
4. Cook for 10-15 minutes at medium heat. You will notice that it becomes soft and transparent.
5. Add the zucchini and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it becomes slightly tender. This will take about 10-12 minutes .
6. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir.
7. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl and allow to cool.
8. In the same pan, pour another 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the pumpkin cut into slices. Sauté until it acquires a light golden color and the texture is slightly tender. It will take about 8-10 minutes .
9. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

We prepare the dough

1. In the bowl of the KitchenAid or our mixer, add the flours together with the water, white wine, oil, oregano and salt.
2. We mix with the help of the hook at speed 1 until obtaining a homogeneous dough.
3. We pour it onto a clean work surface and work it a little with our hands.
4. We form a disc and stretch it with the help of a rolling pin between two sheets of Teflon or baking paper. We will try to give it a diameter of approximately 25 cm .

We cut the dough

1. Place a large plate or bowl on top of the dough and, using a curly pasta cutter , make a circle. Remove the excess dough.
2. We pass the dough disk with the baking paper onto a perforated baking tray .
3. Now we will make the central cuts that will give the sun or flower appearance. With the help of a ruler and a sharp knife or pizza cutter , we make 4 cuts of 10 cm in length that will give rise to a star.

De Buyer perforated tray and carbon steel knife with beech handle

We fill and bake

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC with heat from above and below .
2. We place a thin layer of dill pesto on the base.
3. We place the sautéed zucchini, onions and pumpkin all over the surface.
4. We decorate with Parmesan flakes, dill and dried rosemary, and the sliced ​​almonds.
5. Fold the dough peaks over the filling and bake for 40 minutes . You will notice that the dough takes on a light golden color.
6. We take it out and let it cool for a few minutes on a rack.

We serve

1. We place it on a plate, platter or board where we are going to present it.
2. We drizzle the vegetables with a little almond oil , sprinkle a little truffle salt and decorate with a few fresh dill leaves.
3. If you have pumpkin flowers, you can decorate it with them. And if you dare to fill them, they will make waves!
4. We serve.

KitchenAid P2 Carbon Steel Knife with Beech Handle and Food Chopper

Grades

• Can I make the dough without rye flour? Yes, you can. You just have to omit it and use more strong flour or whole wheat flour instead. But I recommend using it because the flavor is fantastic.
• Rye flour makes dough sticky to the touch, so this texture when kneading is completely normal.
• The pesto can be this variety that I leave you or any other, even the traditional one made only with basil and pine nuts. I leave it completely to your choice, although the touch of watercress and dill goes perfectly with the rest of the ingredients.
• When you cut the pie, if the dough is difficult to handle or soft , refrigerate it for 30 minutes to make it easier to handle.
• The pesto base should be very thin , just to add a little flavor.
• The nuts and herbs can be adjusted to your taste.
• We can keep it for 1-2 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator . Although I recommend consuming it the same day we make it, that is when it will have the best flavor and texture.

This Autumn Sun Tart was a huge hit at our dinner party last week with friends. I made two of them and we served them with a cheese and cold cuts platter, various types of hummus with naan bread, pickles and a few other things. They loved it and I was able to prepare everything in advance.