The cancer diagnosis is taking a probably much improved change to my diet. No more charcuterie (for now!) which is disappointing, though probably a healthy improvement, but most of all a huge snafu in entertaining in Europe where they live for cheese and the groceries pride themselves of shelf after shelf of ham!

Apero hour was about to get far more simpler, even if the name of the tarte suggests otherwise. The Tarte au Soleil is my tribute to sunny days ahead. Pictured below with a classic Genovase pesto and also a red pepper version to see which performed best. Great news, both sides were delicious.

A new go-to in rotation (see what I did there?) for apero hour…

Tarte au Soleil

• Two sheets of puff pastry
• ~1/2 cup of pesto
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Unroll one sheet of puff pastry on the parchment paper, closing any seams.
3. Cut the center of the pastry into a circle (a dinner plate is an easy guide). Set scraps of pastry aside to make snacks with later.
4. Spread pesto all over the circle, leaving a 1″ border.
5. Cut the second sheet of puff pastry into the same size circle. Place on top of the pesto covered pastry.
6. Secure a circle, but not cutting all the way through, in the middle of the tart. A water glass is good for this.
7. Then, cut the circle into quarters, then each quarter into quarters so you have 16 sun beams still attached to the circle in the middle.
8. Gently twist each beam twice and lay the end flat on the baking sheet.
9. Brush entire pastry with egg wash.
10. Bake 20 minutes & serve.