I made what I thought of as a ratatouille pie recently. I roasted vegetables for ratatouille, made a butter crust (1.5 cups flour, 1.5 sticks butter, a good tablespoon of Dijon mustard added to the ice water for the crust), blind baked the crust, then put the ratatouille in the crust, topped with crumbled feta and baked. Good! I'll do it again, especially since my husband's garden is in top mid-summer form.
you guys are the best! thank you for all the answers! I think I am going to do something vol-au-vent-ish though not precisely that! (I am thinking maybe 5-6 4 inch squares!) again, thank you! this was really helpful!
CV - thanks for your comments.
But/and I meant the dish to be served straight up (not flipped), with the puff and height still on the pastry.
For individual little pots, as is.
For the bigger dish, scooped out, with some of the veg from underneath & the pastry still on top.
I would do the ratatouille recipe exactly as is, and bake the puff pastry separately. There are various youtube videos but basicall for a rectangular tart you fold over the very edge about 1/2”, and then dock the center portion with a fork. The center portion will cook but not puff all the way.
Add the ratatouille filling to the tart shell and serve immediately
As the vegetables give off moisture when cooking, it is better to roast them first, then assemble the ratatouille and the pastry.
Another way to get crisp pastry - further to cv's suggestion - is to put the ratatouille in the bottom of a round baking dish and top it with a layer of puff pastry, then bake. That can be done for a large dish or individual servings.
Nancy's suggestion of putting the filling in a pan and putting the pie dough on top is basically a tarte tatin. This technique works well for certain pie doughs; puff dough is not one of those doughs in my opinion.
But feel free to try Nancy's suggestion.
One thing for sure, a tarte tatin-style veggie tart will be *MILES* away from a vol au vent in terms of presentation.
It's your call what sort of aesthetic you prefer. Personally, I would not waste puff dough on a tarte tatin style dish. The vast majority of what one strives for in making puff pastry (airy height) will be largely constrained or squashed when you turn the tarte tatin-style dish upside down for presentation.
Instead of baking the puff pastry tart with the ratatouille filling, I would take a different approach.
I would make vol au vent cases with puff dough, bake them then stuff them with warm ratatouille and serve immediately. This helps maximize the crispiness of the puff pastry instead of contending with some sogginess.
Do a video or image search at your favorite search engine for a quick rundown of how to make a vol au vent (they are quite simple).
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But/and I meant the dish to be served straight up (not flipped), with the puff and height still on the pastry.
For individual little pots, as is.
For the bigger dish, scooped out, with some of the veg from underneath & the pastry still on top.
Per my original reply, please use your favorite Internet search engine and query "vol au vent" or visit YouTube for video tutorials.
The vol au vent is what you are looking for.
Best of luck.
Anyhow, it looks like this has been resolved.
Add the ratatouille filling to the tart shell and serve immediately
The OP will have an easier time finding the videos knowing the common name of the dish which is why I mentioned it specifically.
Another way to get crisp pastry - further to cv's suggestion - is to put the ratatouille in the bottom of a round baking dish and top it with a layer of puff pastry, then bake. That can be done for a large dish or individual servings.
But feel free to try Nancy's suggestion.
One thing for sure, a tarte tatin-style veggie tart will be *MILES* away from a vol au vent in terms of presentation.
It's your call what sort of aesthetic you prefer. Personally, I would not waste puff dough on a tarte tatin style dish. The vast majority of what one strives for in making puff pastry (airy height) will be largely constrained or squashed when you turn the tarte tatin-style dish upside down for presentation.
But your call.
I would make vol au vent cases with puff dough, bake them then stuff them with warm ratatouille and serve immediately. This helps maximize the crispiness of the puff pastry instead of contending with some sogginess.
Do a video or image search at your favorite search engine for a quick rundown of how to make a vol au vent (they are quite simple).
Here's one easy tutorial:
https://www.meilleurduchef.com/en/recipe/vol-au-vent-pastry-cases.html
Best of luck.