As a recovering perfectionist who loves to host people but often struggles to restrain myself from Doing The Most Always All The Time, I’ve recently made it a goal to actually enjoy my own parties. This means unabashedly delegating tasks to willing friends, showering an hour earlier than I think I should (this one is critical), and accepting the idea of doing less in the food and drink department.
What does “doing less” look like for me? My strategy these days is to set out store-bought things I genuinely love and make them feel a little fancy (like chip tower!). Then I invest in making one showstopper dish that won’t put me out but still feels creative. That showstopper almost always involves frozen puff pastry, aka a party in a box. It’s easy to work with, less scary than homemade pastry dough, and still a total drama queen, browning and puffing to reveal endless flaky layers.
This season, my puff-pastry-based snack is tarte soleil, a stop-you-in-your-tracks tart of pull-apart twists stuffed with a savory veggie filling. I first learned about this French dish from my friend Sarah Jampel, who developed a spanakopita-inspired one when we worked together at Bon Appétit. My version takes its flavor cue from another classic party dish: spinach-artichoke dip. It comes together simply with supermarket ingredients, and the end result is festive and impressive. Most important, tarte soleil tells you exactly how to eat it — the cheesy twists scream, “Pull me!”
Spinach-Artichoke Tarte Soleil
Serves 6 to 8
Puff pastry brands vary in terms of weight and the number of sheets in a package. If your box of puff pastry comes with a single sheet that’s closer to 14 oz., you can either buy two packages and make a larger tarte, or cut the single sheet in half and roll out each sheet to get two 9” or 10” rounds out of it. Your tarte will be a little smaller but no less delicious.
All-purpose flour (for dusting)
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3 oz. package, such as Pepperidge Farm), thawed in the fridge overnight
1 10-oz. package frozen spinach, thawed
1 14-oz. can artichokes or 1 10-oz. package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
½ 5.2-oz. Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs cheese (snack on the other half!)
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped dill
2 tsp. lemon zest
¼ tsp. kosher salt
Black pepper
1 large egg
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
Dust a sheet of parchment paper with flour. Gently roll out one puff pastry sheet, dusting with a little more flour as needed to prevent sticking, into a very thin 13”x13” square. Slide the parchment sheet with pastry onto a baking sheet and place in the freezer while you roll out the second sheet of pastry on another sheet of parchment paper. Slide the second parchment of pastry onto the same baking sheet and return to the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.
Place one of the chilled pastry sheets, still on parchment, on a work surface. Place a 12-inch pot lid, plate, or other round object on top of pastry and use a small sharp knife to trace out a circle. Set aside the pastry scraps (you can use them to patch up any tears in the pastry). Transfer the pastry round on its parchment back to the baking sheet and return to the freezer while you repeat with the second pastry sheet. Once both rounds are cut out, return to the freezer to firm up while you make the filling.
Gather the thawed spinach and the artichokes in a large clean tea towel or several layers of cheesecloth and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze out every last bit of liquid like your life depends on it (this will ensure the baked pastry doesn’t get soggy and stays light and crisp). Finely chop the squeezed spinach and artichokes and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the Boursin, Parmesan, dill, lemon zest, and salt and mash together with a spatula to combine. Season with pepper.
Beat the egg and 1 tsp. water in a small bowl until blended. Brush some egg wash all around the edges of one of the pastry rounds, still on parchment. Evenly spread the spinach-artichoke mixture over, leaving a ½” border. Place the second pastry round on top and gently press to seal. Use a small glass (a shot glass or cocktail jigger works perfectly) to make an indent in the center of the pastry. Taking care not to cut through the indent, cut the pastry into four quarters, then cut each quarter into four thin wedges (you should have 16 “rays” of pastry emanating out from the center circle). Slide the entire parchment sheet onto the baking sheet and refrigerate tarte for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Working with one wedge at a time, gently pull away from the center and twist three or four times. Brush all over with egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and bake until puffed and deep golden brown all over, 30-35 minutes. Serve warm.
Do ahead: You can assemble the tart the night before through the stage where you cut out all 16 wedges, but before you twirl them into twists. Cover the tart with plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight. The next day, twist the wedges, brush with egg wash, and bake.
Christina Chaey is a former senior food editor at Bon Appétit and now the editor of Gentle Foods, a newsletter about cooking how you want to feel. You can follow her on Instagram, if you’d like. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and a very loud, toothless cat.
P.S. An easy, nostalgic appetizer and the best party snack of all time.
(Photos by Christina.)
