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Friday, September 15, 2006

HHDH#5: Mini Savoury Tarts - 3 ways

Mini tarts x 3


I've got a few parties coming up in the next few weeks and have been trying to think of some finger food that is simple and easy to make to go with it. Then I discovered that it's "Hay Hay it's Donna Hay" time, and this time it's hosted by Tami over at running with tweezers and the theme this time round is savoury tart. When I saw that, it gave me a briliant idea! I could combine my favourite toppings and make a tart out of it :)

Since I wanted them to be bite sized piece, I made a test run of small little puff pastry tarts with my favourite topping combinations. And the results were:


Mini tarts

Top to bottom: Ham, cheese and pineapple tart, Garlic mushrooms w/ parmesan cheese tart and Oven Roasted cherry tomatoes w/ caramalised balsamic onions tart

For all three mini tarts, I used store bought puff pastry and cut the square into 9 smaller square pieces. Folded the sides in and painted it with some egg wash before baking them in the oven until they started rising.

When they've risen a bit, I took them out of the oven and flattened the middle. (*shock horror*) I actually wanted them to have a cavity in the middle so that I could put more stuffing in it, instead of just having the toppings sitting on top of the pastry. This way, the pastry stays crunchy and flaky instead of soggy because of the condensation from the tart topping.

1. Ham, cheese and pineapple tart

An adaptation from my favourite pizza, I was thinking of calling it The Mini Hawaiian, but decided against it.

Ingredients:

  • Mozarella cheese (I used Perfect Italiano's Pizza Plus, which is a combination of Mozarella, Cheddar and Parmesan Cheese)
  • Your favourite Ham shaved or sliced (I used Virginian Ham)
  • Pineapple pieces (I used canned pineapple)

Begin by stuffing some cheese into the tart cavity, arrange a layer of ham, cheese, ham, cheese and top with a piece of pineapple and more cheese.


Ham, Cheese and Pineapple

The verdict: Absolutely scrumptious. Just like a mini Hawaiian pizza on a puff pastry.

2. Garlic Mushrooms and Parmesan tart

Ingredients:

  • Some Mushrooms
  • Shaved Parmesan Cheese
  • Garlic
  • Chopped parsley
  • S&P
  • EVOO

Marinate the mushrooms with some EVOO, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Let it sit in the marinade for about 10 minutes. Next, roast it in the oven (180 deg C)for approximately 15-20mins, depending on how you like your mushrooms (I liked mine cooked thoroughly). Once it's done, let it cool for a bit before arranging them on top of the puff pastry. Top with some parmesan cheese and return it into the oven until the cheese is melted (no more than 5 mins). Drizzle with the juice from the mushrooms and top with some parsley before serving.

Garlic Mushroom w/ Parmesan


The verdict: Pre-marinading the mushrooms gave them very flavoursome when you bite into them. I especially love the strength of the parmesan cheese when combined with the flavour of the mushrooms. It's just.. indescribable. (maybe not.. ) Think of the zing of the parmesan when it hits your taste buds and juicy garlic mushrooms.

3. Oven roasted cherry tomatoes w/ caramalised balsamic onions.

Ingredients:

  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • EVOO
  • Finely chopped basil leaves or dried basil
  • Sliced Spanish Onions
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Sugar
  • S&P

Slice cherry tomatoes in half and drizzle generously with EVOO, sprinkle chopped basil and season with S&P. Let it sit for 5 mins before roasting them in the oven (180 deg C) for about 10 - 15mins. I like my tomatoes to still retain it's shape when it's cooked, and depending on the size of the cherry tomatoes 10mins might just be perfect.

Meanwhile, heat approximately 1 tablespoon of EVOO in a pan and fry the onions over medium heat until it starts to soften. Add a splash (or two .. depending on your taste) of balsamic vinegar into the pan and mix well. At this point, the onions would be fairly soft and appears caramalised. Add approximately 1 teaspoon of sugar and keep stirring until the sugar has melted. Do a taste test, and if the onions taste too tangy add a bit more sugar, otherwise it's done. Let it cool.

Once the tomatoes and onions are sufficiently cooled, start topping the tart, firstly with the onions, then tomatoes. If you wish, you could return the tarts to the oven for reheating before serving. Top with small basil leaves and serve.

Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes w/ Caramalised Balsamic Onion

The verdict: This is probably the one that took the most effort to make, since I had pre-make the onions and tomatoes, but it was so satisfying that it was worth every effort I had put into it. I love caramalised onions, especially when combined with balsamic vinegar. Each bite I took was crunchy, flaky, sweet and tangy all mixed together. Yumm.. definitely my favourite of the three.


Mini tarts x 2

I'd say that this test run has been pretty successful, especially since my 9 little tarts become 6 little tarts about 5 seconds after I finish taking the pics. Too bad about the lighting. Oh well.


DSCN0616


This trial will double as my entry to HHDH and Stephanie of Happy Sorceress's Blog Party #14 for kids. I figured that Ham, cheese and pineapple is kid friendly enough :)

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

The mini tarts are such a good idea! They all look delicious. Thanks for taking part...

- tami

Anonymous said...

*gobble*gobble*gobble*
=)

Alpineberry Mary said...

All 3 tarts look great but my favorite one is the Hawaiian tart. It never occurred to me to put those flavors on a tart, but what a great idea.

Jen said...

These are too cute for words. I like the shot of them from up above onthe square plate. Very pop art, very cool!
They all look delicious, but I think my favourite would have to be the tomato and onion one...superb!
Hope you have a great time in Sydney, going anywhere in particular?

ilingc said...

Tami: Hi Tami, I love small things :)

Mish: Is that a Greedy gobble I hear?

Mary: Hi Mary, glad you like them. I love hawaiian pizza and thought they might just work on a little tarts like these.

jenjen: Hi, hehe thanks. They're cute. My fav shot is the one 5mins after I thought I was done with the pics.
The tomato and onion one was my fav too.

The Fish Market, Haymarket, Lindt Cafe and Cupcakes on Pitt amongst the few I'd like to go. Will mostly be stuck in the CBD and places we can get to by public transport since we decided against hiring car just for the weekend. I hear the weather's going to be good in Sydney this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. :)

s'kat said...

Those are wonderful! You'd certainly be the hostest with the mostest if you brought out a tray of those at a party.

Brilynn said...

Very nice. I like the idea of the Hawaiin, pineapple is a good addition to anything.

Anonymous said...

I did a post once called "cooking for children". They came round for dinner and I got them to build their own tarts so all 3 of them each had exactly what they wanted on their tart. I think it worked out pretty well. They were 1/2French/Dutch American girls, so I couldn't really give them a choice of pineapple with their ham or the french parent might have thought I was crazy. Maybe I should have tried it on them?

Anonymous said...

Hi Ilingc - Thanks for entering. My favourite is the onion and tomato. Great idea to make mini tarts. I'll be trying it next week to serve to guests.

ilingc said...

s'kat: Thank you. I served some of these at a dinner party I had the other day and they were well received. So glad I tried it out on myself before hand. :D

brilynn: I agree. I can have pineapple with anything, anytime of the day.

sam: How cute! I wish someone did that when I was a kid. It would've been a good experiment though to see whether the kids would go for the pineapple :)

Barbara: Thank you, I hope your guests enjoys them too :)

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog through google by searching for mini savourty tarts ideas!
I like what you did! They looked so cute and really delicious!
Thanks for sharing this!