One Pan Meal: A Quartet of Tarts

L

I have been completely envious of Bea and all of the gorgeous tarts she’s been posting over the last few weeks. Each one is picture perfect shades of gold and butter. And, after indulging a bit in the lovely puffed pastry tart from Two Tartes, I decided it was time to make my own.

Somewhat obviously, there are two important things to a tart: the crust and what you put inside. I am a quite embarrassed to admit this, but I use the crust recipe that is on the can of Crisco. It nearly impossible to get it wrong, and the crusts turn out incredibly flakey and delicious every single time. Maybe next go around, I’ll try something else (feel free to send suggestions!).

spring onions-1Goat Cheese

For the filling, I just couldn’t decide which way to go. I had found these gorgeous spring onions on my last trip to the market and had picked up a lovely goat cheese. But, I also had some cilantro pesto, some fresh cream cheese, a creamy fresh mozzarella and a mango, all that really needed to get used soon. And, so I decided to make them all. One pan, 4 different kinds of tarts!

For these tarts, start with your choice of crust recipes. Cut into small circles and roll out a bit more. Line each cup of a muffin tin with a piece of crust. Don’t make these too neat… a fold here and there will make for a much more beautiful tart. Fill as desired. I made 3 each of the four different fillings below. Cook at 375F for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before eating. I wish I could tell you which was my favorite, but they were all so different it is hard to say.

Carmelized Spring Onion and Goat Cheese Tart

Caramelized Spring Onion and Goat Cheese
In a small skillet, add the onion, sliced into rings, with some butter and olive oil (about a 1/2 T of each per onion). Place over the lowest possible heat for about an hour stirring every 5 minutes or so. Once soft, raise heat to medium to brown, stirring constantly. Do not overcook! The onions should be a caramel color, not dark brown as they will have more time cooking in the oven.

Crumble some goat cheese (the stronger the better to balance the onion) into the bottom of the tart crust. Top with the caramelized onion.

Cucumber, Cream Cheese and Chive Tart


Cucumber, Cream Cheese and Chive
Slice a cucumber into thin discs, and line the bottom of the tart crust with two to four slices. Sprinkle with a little salt. Top with about a tablespoon of fresh cream cheese. Sprinkle with finely chopped chives after baking.

Pesto and Fresh Mozzarella
Fill the tart crust almost halfway with your choice of pesto (check out these pestos which look delicious!). Top with a scoop of fresh mozzarella. If desired, add a bit more mozzarella after cooking.

Tarts

Fresh Mango
Thinly slice mango, and fill the tart crust with the slices. Combine some sugar, cinnamon and ginger in a small bowl. Sprinkle mango with just a little of the sugar mixture. Top with freshly whipped cream when cool.

Technorati Tags: , ,

0 thoughts on “One Pan Meal: A Quartet of Tarts

  1. Hi L. Hurrah!! I am glad I managed to get you started in tartland! 😉 Those look gorgeous! You know showing pictures when a bite is missing IS making the reader want to eat in it even more! I was not familiar top much with cooked cucumber so I am very keen to try that! Beautiful!

  2. Well I would have to say you that your tarts turned out as beautifully as Bea’s. And…there is nothing wrong with a tried and true recipe, no matter where it comes from!

  3. I like how you made these in a muffin pan. That’s something I’ve not thought of. I’m always struggling to get crusts to fit nicely into tart pans. I love the free form look.

  4. You know I love tarts. The crust may be simple, but it is incredibly tasty – I really enjoyed the mango. My person favourite for those of you out there are actually butter tarts. Maybe we’ll do a joint effort in the next couple of weeks and make some of those for your visual enjoyment!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *