Makes 60 | Cook 55 mins
30 large cherry tomatoes, halved
olive oil, for cooking
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic
260g plain fl our, sifted
200g unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp whipping cream
pinched dried thyme
140g vegetarian Parmesan-style
cheese, fi nely grated, plus extra for sprinkling
180g pesto
extra-virgin olive oil
60 small thyme sprigs
Parmesan cookies with roasted tomato and pesto
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Generously fl our 2 large baking sheets and set aside.
2. Place the tomato halves on a large baking tray, cut-side up, and drizzle with olive oil. Season generously
with salt and pepper and roast for 20–25 minutes or until just softened. Meanwhile, place the garlic in a small
baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 40 minutes until soft. Remove and allow to cool a little before squeezing out the soft fl esh and discarding the papery skin. Set the roasted tomatoes and garlic aside, then turn down the oven temperature to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
3. Using an electric mixer fi tted with a paddle beater, beat the fl our and butter until combined; the mixture
should resemble coarse breadcrumbs. Add the cream, roasted garlic, thyme, Parmesan-style cheese, a pinch of salt and a decent amount of pepper, then continue to mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
4. Turn out the dough on to a very well-fl oured work surface (the dough will be really soft but don’t worry – this is how it’s supposed to be). Cover it in a good amount of fl our and gather it all up into a ball, then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the dough from the fridge and cover the work surface generously with fl our (the dough will still appear almost too soft to work with, but don’t panic – this is how we want it). Using a rolling pin, very gently roll out the dough to a thickness of 5mm, then cut into rounds using a 3cm cutter, transferring each cookie to the prepared baking sheets as you go. Gather up the remaining scraps of dough and repeat the process until all the dough is used up.
6. Sprinkle the cookies with a little extra fi nely grated Parmesan-style cheese and season with extra pepper. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown and the bases are fi rm. Allow to cool completely.
7. To assemble the canapés, dot ½ teaspoon of pesto on to the centre of each cookie and top with a roasted
tomato half. Drizzle a tiny amount of extra-virgin olive oil over the top and garnish with a small sprig of thyme
and a sprinkling of extra Parmesan style cheese.