Breakfast tarts come in a wide variety. They can be sweet or savory, big or small, fancy or rustic. The easy thing about making them is that you can use whatever you like or whatever you happen to have on hand. They can be made for any number of people and look really beautiful for the amount of effort that you actually have to put in. This recipe can easily be made vegetarian by simply omitting the Italian sausage.
Today, I am making a big rustic savory breakfast tart that would serve six. You can absolutely cut down the size of your tart to serve less though! The great thing about this recipe is that although this is the way that I am making this one today, you can customize yours in any way you like! This particular recipe results in a very warm your belly feeling tart that reminds me a little bit of a breakfast pizza. I hope you enjoy it!
The first step will be to begin browning some Italian sausage in a skillet. I like to break mine down into small pieces and let them get really crispy, but when the sausage is done how you want it, transfer it into a bowl and set it aside. While the sausage is cooking, finely dice two small yellow onions and slice about 8 oz of baby portobella mushrooms into medium slices. Once you remove the browned sausage from the skillet, start cooking the onions in the same skillet and as they begin to soften, scrape up the brown bits left behind from the sausage. As they begin to turn translucent, add the sliced mushrooms and cook for two or three minutes. You want the mushrooms soft, but not mushy, as they will cook a bit more in the oven. Once they are done, transfer the onions and mushrooms into a bowl and set aside. Keeping the skillet over medium heat, add a handful of fresh spinach and cover for two minutes, then turn off the heat. Transfer the spinach into a bowl and set aside.
Place all of your bowls close to where you will be assembling your tart. Next, lightly dust your table or a large cutting board with flour and begin rolling out your puff pastry. Puff pastry usually comes folded in three layers, so you’ll want to roll it out flat and just a bit thinner than it was in the packaging. This is not a crucial step to perfect, so don’t stress out about making it exact. You’ll want it to end up being somewhere around 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick. Not see through, but not too thick. Roll it and move on…
The exact thickness of the puff pastry may not be important, but this next step is! With a sharp knife, create a boarder around the edge of the pastry sheet. I try to be about 3/4 of an inch in, but the sheet will not be perfectly rectangular, so just do your best. You are creating a boundary for the crust to rise up around the tart. Inside of that boarder, using a fork, gently poke lots of holes all over the pastry. These holes will prevent the center of the puff pastry from puffing up and this allows for a thin crispy crust under the tart.
We are now ready to begin assembling the tart. Before adding the toppings, create an egg wash by whisking together one egg and one teaspoon of water and brush the outer boarder of the pastry. This will help the crust to be a beautiful golden brown. Next, add a layer of shredded cheese. Be careful to keep your toppings inside of the boarder. Not only will this make the tart more beautiful, but it will allow the crust to puff up fully around the toppings.
After a base of shredded cheese, I add the crispy Italian sausage then the onions and mushrooms. Spread everything evenly and then add the wilted spinach and some sun dried tomatoes. Once all of the toppings have been added, bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. The edges should begin to brown. Remove the tart from the oven and crack your eggs over the toppings. If your eggs are really large, make a small well within the toppings to keep them contained.
I only added three eggs, but as you can see in the finished product, there is plenty of room for six eggs (three on each side) in order to give each person an egg. Return the tart to the oven and bake until the eggs are set to your preference. About 7 minutes will create an over easy set, 9 minutes for over medium and about 11 minutes for a fully set yoke. Keep an eye on the tart as it gets close to being finished and as soon as you are happy with the eggs, remove the tart from the oven and transfer it to a large cutting board.
The edges of your tart should be puffed up and a deep golden brown. All the cheese will be melted and gooey and your spinach a little bit crispy. At the point, I like to add just a tiny bit more finely shredded cheese over the top and some finely diced spring onions. This is not necessary, just an option for adding even more decadence on top of the already delicious package. Cut into slices and enjoy…
Rustic Breakfast Tart
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Italian sausage
- 1 medium yellow onions, diced
- 8 ounces baby portobella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup spinach, packed
- 6-8 sun dried tomatoes, thin sliced
- 8 ounces mozzarella, shredded
- 4 ounces sharp white cheddar, shredded
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 sheet of puff pastry
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Brown Italian sausage in a medium skillet and once it is nicely browned, transfer it into a bowl and set aside
- In the same skillet, cook the diced onions over medium heat, scraping the browned bits from the Italian sausage from the bottom of the skillet
- Once the onions are softened, add the mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms are softened as well
- Transfer the onions and mushrooms to a bowl and set aside
- Add spinach to the skillet over medium heat for two minutes or until it has wilted slightly. Transfer into a bowl and set aside
- Lightly flour a large cutting board and roll out the puff pastry slightly larger than it was in the packaging
- Run a knife to score a line about 3/4 of an inch inside the boarder of the puff pastry
- Using a fork, gently prick holes all over the puff pastry to the inside the boarder
- Make an egg wash by whisking one egg and one teaspoon of water together in a small bowl and brush this egg wash around the boarder of your puff pastry
- Top the puff pastry with shredded cheese, cooked Italian sausage, onions, mushrooms, wilted spinach and sun dried tomatoes
- Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes
- Remove from the oven and crack 4 large eggs onto the tart
- Return the tart to the oven and bake until the eggs are set to your preference
- Garnish with additional shredded cheese and finely diced spring onions
