Lazy lunch: 30-minute tomato, onion and herb tart

This low-effort vegetarian tart is perfect for a quick lunch or as a picnic dish on a summer day out, says Prudence Wade

Ready-rolled pastry makes this a super simple recipe (Dan Jones/PA)

A sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry makes this a really simple lunch, and although cooking the onions needs your attention, everything else is incredibly low effort,” says Sanjay Aggarwal, author of Spice Kitchen.

“Make sure you cook the pastry until it’s a deep, burnished golden-brown; too pallid and it will still be soft and floppy underneath.”

Quick tomato, onion and herb tart

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil

3 red onions, sliced into half moons

1 tsp caster sugar

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry

500g cherry tomatoes

150g pitted black olives

1 egg (skip the egg wash if you’re vegan, or use a splash of oat milk instead)

Handful of chopped fresh parsley

Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

Method:

1. Warm the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the onions over a moderate heat, stirring frequently so that they soften but don’t stick. After five minutes, add the sugar and salt.

2. After another five minutes, add the Italian seasoning and the vinegar and cook for a final five minutes. Set aside to cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 190C fan/210C/410F/gas mark 6½.

4. Unroll the puff pastry sheet onto a lined baking tray and create a border by using a knife to score a line a little way in from the edge (don’t slice all the way through the pastry).

5. Spread the onions over the pastry inside the border, then top with the tomatoes and olives. Beat the egg and paint it over the border. Transfer the tart to the oven and bake for 20 minutes until risen and a rich golden-brown around the edges.

6. Top with the parsley and lemon zest and serve while warm.

Recipe from ‘Spice Kitchen’ by Sanjay Aggarwal (Quadrille, £22).