Mortadella & Dijon Tart Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Mortadella, for me, was love at first sight. As a fan of all processed meats—bologna, spam, bacon, and more—it was no surprise that when I first saw those beautifully creamy spots of pork fat, I was smitten. You can put mortadella on just about anything and it will have a baseline of deliciousness, but where it really shines for me is when that rich, fatty flavor is tempered by some heat and acid. The marriage of all these flavors comes to life in a showstopper puff pastry tart that one could claim is a fancy ham and cheese. On a base of store-bought puff pastry goes a thick layer of Dijon and whole-grain mustard, then sliced provolone, and finally a shingled layer of mortadella. All of this bakes together, with the edges of the mortadella becoming crispy, almost fried, due to their fat content. This decadent tart is finished with thinly sliced cornichons. I promise you there will be no leftovers when you serve this.

Think of this as a great recipe to have in the back of your brain as a perfect party appetizer—I mean how good will this be with a chilled glass of bubbly on the side? You can assemble the tart the morning of your event and then pop it in the oven when your first guest arrives so it’ll be ready when the party really gets going. —Becca Jacobs

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F and prepare a parchment-lined sheet pan. On a flour dusted work surface, roll out the puff pastry into a 9x12-inch rectangle; try to minimize any visible seams in the dough. With a knife trace a smaller rectangle within the puff pastry center, leaving ½ inch to the edge on all sides to create space for a border and the area you will be placing your toppings on. Gently poke the inside of the rectangle you outlined with the tines of fork, evenly and all over. This will prevent this area from rising while the tart bakes so you get a clean border.
2. Combine the grainy mustard, Dijon, and mayonnaise. Spoon a thin layer of the mustard sauce all over the inner rectangle of the tart. You will likely only use about a ½ cup of the sauce but we will keep the remaining for serving later.
3. Shingle slices of provolone across the tart. They will have some overlap and hit the border of the tart. You should have 3 rows of 3 slices to cover the whole tart.
4. Fold the mortadella slices in half like you’re closing a book and then in half again going from the top corner to the bottom corner to create what will look like mortadella fans. Layer the folded mortadella on top of the provolone until the inner portion of the tart is covered, you should have 5 rows of 4 mortadella slices.
5. Whisk the egg with a tablespoon of water and brush the visible border of the tart.
6. Bake the tart for 20 to 25 minutes, until the mortadella is crispy on the edges and the puff pastry has cooked to a golden brown. Remove from oven. Scatter the sliced cornichons on top of the tart, cut into slices, and serve warm with the leftover mustard sauce.