A few summers ago I attended a little summer cookout in the Hamptons. Aside from the usual charcuterie and crudité, there was this fantastic pull apart appetizer , that made a huge impression with the guests. A Tarte Soleil, is artistic in design and is made up of delicious puff pastry and other goodness like pesto and garlic.

There are a dozen ways to make a Tarte Soleil, but we have had the most success with the below. Do not let the intricate design scare you off! This is actually quite easy to make.

Ingredients

• 2 sheets of store bought puff pastry, cut into circles (about 10 in)
• 4 tablespoons pesto
• 1 egg, beaten
• Garlic powder
• OPTIONAL: Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel Seasoning

Steps

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Roll out the pastry to cut a large circle – we find it helpful to use a large dinner plate or pie dish for this step
• Place pesto in the middle of the circle and spread over the pastry leaving about an inch of a border around the circle
• Sprinkle on the garlic powder (about a teaspoon)
• Place the second circle of pastry on top
• Using a small glass, press into the center of the circle to create an indentation
• Cut pastry into four quarters, keeping the center intact as a circle
• Then go into each quadrant and cut then in half then quarters this will create 4 slices per quadrant
• Place tray in the freezer for 5 mins until the dough is slightly firmed up and you can twist the “rays”
• Twist each ray, turning each twice, and allow the tail to lay flat
• Once all the twists are made, place the tray back in the freezer for 5 mins
• Remove the tray from the freezer and brush the twists with the beaten egg; option to sprinkle on the Trader Joe’s seasoning here
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown