3 Sweet + Savoury Pastry Ideas For Your Easter Menu

Easter calls for some delicious egg-inspired eats and treats to accompany either brunch, lunch or dinner. To inspire you this Easter, Egg Farmers of Canada is sharing a collection of easy-to-make sweet and savoury pastry recipes perfect to share with family and friends for the long weekend or at your next spring gathering. Featuring fresh, local, high-quality eggs, some savoury recipes in the collection include Chef Dale MacKay’s Mushroom and Onion Goat Cheese Tart and Chef Craig Flinn’s Full English Breakfast Pizza! Readers can also satisfy their sweet tooth with Chef Minh Phat’s decadent Crème Brûlée Tart. —Vita Daily

The Full English Breakfast Pizza

• By Chef Craig Flinn
• Prep Time: 35 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Serves: 4

Egg-ceptional Chef Craig Flinn shares a fun twist on “pizza” – perfect to serve for breakfast, brunch, dinner, or as a side dish. Baked on top of a sheet of puff pastry and featuring toppings like Canadian eggs, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheddar cheese, this egg-quisite pizza is sure to delight.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow- potato
• 3 Campari or plum tomatoes
• 4 sliced button or cremini mushrooms
• 1 ½ tbsp (25 mL) extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 225 g (8 oz) frozen puff pastry sheet, fully thawed
• ½ cup (125 mL) grated white cheddar cheese
• 2 sprigs chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 minced clove of garlic
• 5 large eggs
• 3 slices back or peameal bacon
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Flaky sea salt
• HP Sauce or similar sauce (optional)

Instructions:

Step 1: Pierce potato with a fork and place in the microwave, cooking on high for 7 minutes until it’s softened. Let potato cool and then peel and grate. Place grated potato in a small bowl and set aside.

Step 2: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

Step 3: Quarter tomatoes and slice mushrooms. In a small bowl, toss tomatoes and sliced mushrooms with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread them out on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside.

Step 4: Remove thawed puff pastry from package and lay it on a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough until it’s around 9 x 14 in (22.8 x 30.3 cm). Place dough on a lined baking tray. With a sharp knife, lightly cut a slash along the edge of the puff pastry, ½ in (1 cm) from the edge, being careful not to cut through the dough. Use a fork to pierce the dough inside the slash line all over the surface.

Step 5: Crack one egg into a small bowl and beat well. Brush the edges of the dough with the beaten egg. Bake the puff pastry for 10 minutes until it begins to rise but isn’t fully cooked; remove from the oven. Set aside for a few minutes.

Step 6: Add remainder of beaten egg to the bowl containing the grated potato. Add the grated white cheddar cheese and chopped rosemary and mix well. Spread the mixture onto the puff pastry inside the raised edges. Add the roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and strips of back bacon evenly over the pizza.

Step 7: Use the back of a spoon to make four light depressions in the toppings of the pizza to crack each of the four remaining eggs. Put pizza in oven and bake for 8 or 9 minutes until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny. For a firmer egg yolk, bake for a few more minutes.

Step 8: Garnish with parsley and season each egg with freshly grated pepper and a little flaky sea salt. Serve with HP Sauce or a similar style steak or “brown” sauce for an authentic English taste.

Mushroom, Egg and Onion Goat Cheese Tart

• By Chef Dale Mackay
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Serves: 8

Egg-ceptional Chef Dale MacKay is inspiring Canadians to serve up an effortlessly sophisticated savoury tart at their next gathering, using fresh Canadian eggs and flavourful goat cheese, mushrooms and onions.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup (125 mL) soft goat cheese
• ¼ cup (60 mL) and 2 tbsp (30 mL) grated parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1  10×10 in (25.4 x 25.4 cm) thawed puff pastry sheet
• 3 cups (750 mL) button mushrooms
• ⅔ (150 mL) cup onion
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) vegetable oil
• 1 tsp (5 mL) minced garlic
• ½ tsp (2.5 mL) salt
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped parsley 

Instructions:

Step 1: In a medium bowl, mix soft goat cheese, ¼ cup (60 mL) grated parmesan and one egg with a spatula until combined. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Step 2: Take the puff pastry out of the freezer and put it onto a sheet tray leaving the parchment paper underneath. Preheat oven to 415°F (213°C).

Step 3: Cut the mushrooms and onions into ¼-in (½ cm) thick slices. Heat a large frying pan on high heat and add vegetable oil. Carefully add mushrooms to the pan and sauté until lightly browned. Add diced onions to the pan turning the heat down to medium and cook for 2 more minutes. Add minced garlic and salt and cook for one more minute. Take mixture off heat and place onto a tray allowing it to cool.

Step 4: In a small bowl, whip remaining egg. Using a pastry brush, generously glaze the entire puff pastry sheet. Once puff pastry is glazed and thawed enough to bend it without cracking fold the pastry edges over ½ in (1 cm) on each side, creating a small border around the sheet. Glaze the border with egg wash.

Step 6: Evenly spread the goat cheese mix inside the puff pastry border. Next, evenly spread the sauteed mushrooms and onions on top of the goat cheese mix.

Step 7: Place pastry in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, cooking until all sides are dark brown. Once out of oven, sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp (30 mL) parmesan cheese and chopped parsley over tart. Cut into portions and eat warm or at room temperature.

Crème Brûlée Tart

• By Chef Minh Phat
• Prep time: 30 minutes
• Cook time: 90 minutes
• Serves: 10-12 portions

Egg-ceptional Chef Minh Phat has created a sweet pastry, perfect as a post-brunch, lunch or dinner treat – an eggy Crème Brûlée Tart. Nestled upon shortcrust pastry, the creamy filling undergoes a decadent transformation as the entire ensemble is caramelized to perfection.

Ingredients:

Sweet Dough

• 1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (60 mL) sugar
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
• ½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter
• 2 eggs

Crème Brûlée

• 2 cups (500 mL) 35% cream
• 8 egg yolks
• ¼ cup (60 mL) sugar
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
• Additional sugar for caramelized topping

Preparation:

Step 1: In a mixer, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder, adding butter in small pieces. Once mixture is crumbly, crack in eggs, mixing until a ball of dough forms. Wrap it in cling wrap and put it in the fridge for one hour.

Step 2: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Step 3: Take dough out of the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface, until it is roughly 0.5 mm thick. Transfer into an 11-inch (28 cm) tart pan. Prick dough with a fork for aeration and place parchment paper on top. Place pie weights or dried beans on top of the parchment paper to keep it in place and prevent pastry from puffing up too much in the oven as it bakes.

Step 4: Bake for 30-40 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Take pan out and let it cool.

Step 5: Lower oven temperature to 315°F (157°C).

Step 6: To make the crème brûlée, heat cream in a saucepan on the lowest heat.

Step 7: Separately, crack the eggs separating the yolks from the whites. Add sugar and vanilla extract to egg yolks, incorporating them together. You can save the egg whites to make other complimentary dessert dishes like meringue cookies.

Step 8: Remove cream from the stove.

Step 9: Slowly incorporate cream into egg yolk mixture with a spatula, avoiding air bubbles. Then pour mixture into cooled tart crust.

Step 9: Bake tart for 30-45 minutes at 315°F (157°C) until it sets.

Step 10: Allow tart to chill for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator. Before serving, sprinkle with sugar and caramelize sugar by either placing tart back in the oven on broil for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown, or by using a torch.