Tart up your next gathering
Tarts are one of my absolute go-to solutions for entertaining – from savoury to sweet, they provide an excellent, make-ahead solution to on-the-day stress. A savoury cheesy pastry is a firm favourite and works with all manner of fillings – just recently I used it for my nephew’s wedding brunch then filled the tart with braised leeks and fennel with smoked salmon and dill – delicious.
Here, I have made individual tarts that make a great lunch option – to share with friends with a leafy green salad and a glass of wine or, now that the weather is improving, to pop in a picnic basket for a long-awaited trip to the beach.
The first is packed with earthy mushrooms, salty pancetta and sweet, caramelised onions and is topped with melting creamy buffalo mozzarella. The second tart is loaded with salty feta, fresh new-season asparagus and roast tomatoes, and finished with a good dollop of basil pesto.
Each is fabulous on its own, but if you have the time or inclination, it is pretty special to be able to offer guests the option of both.
The pastry recipe makes enough for six tarts, and the creamy part of the filling is essentially the same – so you can easily halve the mushroom/asparagus parts of the recipes to make three of each.
Mushroom, pancetta and red onion tart
Makes: 6 Preparation: 30 minutes Cooking: 54 minutes
Pastry: ❚ 2 cups plain flour
❚ 150g butter
❚ 1⁄2 cup grated parmesan
❚ 1 egg
❚ 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
❚ 1 tablespoon olive oil
❚ 80g pancetta or streaky bacon, chopped
❚ 350g mixed mushrooms, large ones quartered
❚ 250g cream cheese, at room temperature, chopped
❚ 1⁄2 cup grated parmesan
❚ 1⁄ cup cream
32eggs
❚
❚ 1 egg yolk
❚ 1 clove garlic, crushed
❚ 1 1⁄2 cups caramelised onions
❚ 125g buffalo mozarella, drained
❚ Fresh thyme sprigs to garnish
You will need 6 x 12cm removable-base tart tins, 3cm deep. For the pastry, put the flour, butter, salt, and parmesan in a food processor and whizz until it forms breadcrumbs. Add the egg and whizz until it is starting to clump together. If necessary add 1-2 teaspoons cold milk and continue to whizz until it comes together as a pastry. Tip out and pat together, then chill in baking paper for 15 minutes.
Roll out the pastry between two sheets of baking paper and use to line the base and sides of the tart tins.This doesn’t need to be particularly neat, as long as it is fairly even and fully covered. Chill while preparing the filling.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pot or frying pan and cook the pancetta for three minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook over a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for eight minutes, then remove from the heat. Put the cream cheese, parmesan, cream, eggs, yolk, and garlic in a food processor and whizz to form a smooth mixture.
Cut six circles of baking paper larger than the tart tins and place inside the pastry, then fill with baking beans, weights or rice. Cook for 10 minutes, remove baking beans and paper, and cook a further eight minutes.
Divide the caramelised onion between the pastry cases (still in the tins), and fill with the cream cheese mixture and mushrooms. Tear the mozzarella into small chunks and place a piece on each tart. Bake for a further 25 minutes until cooked through. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before serving, or allow to cool and serve at room temperature.
Asparagus, tomato and feta tarts with pesto
Makes: 6 Preparation 15 minutes Cooking: 43 minutes
Pastry:
❚ 2 cups plain flour
❚ 150g butter
❚ 1⁄ cup grated parmesan
12egg
❚
❚ 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
❚ 250g cream cheese
❚ 1⁄2 cup grated parmesan
❚ 1⁄ cup cream
32eggs
❚
❚ 1 egg yolk
❚ 1 clove garlic, crushed
❚ 200g feta, crumbled
❚ 14 asparagus spears, trimmed, and cut into thirds
❚ 6 vine tomatoes
❚ 2⁄3 cup basil pesto
You will need 6 x 12cm removable base tart tins, 3cm deep. For the pastry, put the flour, butter, salt, and parmesan in a food processor and whizz until it forms breadcrumbs. Add the egg and whizz until it is starting to clump together. If necessary add 1-2 teaspoons cold milk and continue to whizz until it comes together as a pastry. Tip out and pat together, then chill in baking paper for 15 minutes.
Roll the pastry out between two sheets of baking paper and use to line the base and sides of the tart tins. This doesn’t need to be particularly neat, as long as it is fairly even and fully covered. Chill while preparing the filling.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Put the cream cheese, parmesan, cream, eggs, yolk, and garlic in a food processor and whizz to form a smooth mixture. Cut six circles of baking paper larger than the tart tins and place inside the pastry, then fill with baking beans, weights or rice. Cook for 10 minutes, remove baking beans and paper, and cook a further eight minutes.
Divide half of the feta between the pastry cases (still in the tins), place a tomato into each, and fill with the cream cheese mixture and asparagus spears. Top with remaining crumbled feta and bake a further 25 minutes until cooked through. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before serving, or allow to cool and serve at room temperature with a dollop of basil pesto.