Italian Cheese & Red Pesto Tartlets
Serves 12
These tartlets, with their tangy Italian flavors, will serve 4people as a light
lunch or supper dish, accompanied by a crisp green salad. They also make a tasty
appetizer to serve with predinner drinks. They taste just as good cold as hot, so
they can be prepared well in advance.
- 3-oz (90-g) jar store-bought red pesta or sun-dried tomato puree
- 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 9 black olives, pitted and quartered
- 1 cup (125 g) grated Fontina or mozzarella cheese
- 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2-3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp dried oregano
SHORT CRUST PASTRY
- 1//2 cups (175 g) all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp (90 g) butter
- about 2 tbsp cold water
STEPS :
- Make the pastry: put the flour in a bowl, add the butter and rub in with the fingertips.
Add enough water to bind to a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for
30 minutes.
- Make the tartlet shells.
- Spread the red pesto in the tartlet shells, then fi II the shells with the tomato,
garlic, black olives, and Fontina cheese.
- Sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese over the tartlets, covering the pastry edges
as well as the filling. Sprinkle the dried oregano on top.
- Bake the tartlets in a 400癋 (200癈) oven for 20-30 minutes, until the edges of
the tartlets are golden brown in color and the Parmesan cheese topping has melted
and become crispy.
- Serve the tartlets warm or cold.
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Making tartlet shells
Sprinkle a work surface with flour, then roll out the short crust
pastry to a 1/8-1/4 in (3-5 mm) thickness.
Cut out 12 rounds from the pastry, using a 4-in (lO-cm) pastry
cutter.
Fold up the edges of the rounds to form rims; put on a baking sheet.
GOAT CHEESE TARTLETS
Make the short crust pastry shell and the filling as directed, using t/s lb (125
g) chopped pancetta instead of the bacon. Add 1 cup (60 g) drained and coarsely
chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil after cooking the pancetta and onion, and cook
for 1 minute. Proceed as directed.
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