Tarts

Savoury tarts. I've finished with the desserts and shall now start on the main dishes. One regret I have is not taking pictures of every single food item we made. Such a pity. Especially since Aunty Lina made a very nice pattern on the smoked salmon and dill tarts. Many people also liked the goat's cheese and leek tart with walnuts. All these tarts are easy to make. The quantities given also can make 6 small tartlets for an elegant first course. They also look so cute. Don't you love miniatures?

Goat's cheese and leek tart with walnuts
from Délicieuses Tartes Sucrées et Salées by Maxine Clark

250 g puff pastry
50 g butter
4 small leeks, minced
200 g goat's cheese, sliced
125 g walnuts
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 tablespoons walnut oil
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the leeks. Add a few tablespoons of water and a teaspoon of salt. Give the leeks a stir and cover. Cook the leeks on low heat for about 20 minutes until they are very soft. At the end of cooking time, take off the cover to allow the excess moisture to evaporate. Let the mixture cool.

To prepare the walnut paste, process the walnuts and garlic in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of water. Add the walnut oil and parsley and process again.

To assemble the tart, line a 28-cm tart tin with the puff pastry and spread out the leeks in a single layer. Cover with the slices of goat's cheese and top it all with the wanut paste. Salt and pepper and finish off with a filet of olive oil.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is golden.

Onion and rosemary tart
from Délicieuses Tartes Sucrées et Salées by Maxine Clark

200g shortcrust pastry
75 g butter
600 g onions, minced
30 cl crème fraîche
2 stalks rosemary
6 large garlic cloves
olive oil
4 egg yolks
grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
30 black olives for decoration

Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Line a tart tin with the shortcrust pastry and line with a round of greasproof paper and a layer of baking beans. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for about 5 minutes, until golden. Take out the crust from the oven and let cool.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the onions. Add a few tablespoons of water and a teaspoon of salt. Give the onions a stir and cover. Cook the onions on very low heat for about 30 minutes to 1 houe until they are very soft, almost like a paste. Leave the onions to cool.

Place the crème fraîche and rosemary stalks into a saucepan and heat until nearly boiling point. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for as long as possible.

Cover the garlic in olive oil in a small saucepan and cook over very low heat for about 4o minutes until the garlic is golden and soft.

Put the crème fraîche in a food processor with the garlic (reserve oil for another use. eg. salad dressing) and egg yolks. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and process until a smooth paste is obtained. Add in the chopped rosemary.

Spread the onions on the bottom of the crust and cover with the crème fraîche mixture. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Decorate the tart with olives before serving.

Smoked salmon and dill tart
from BBC Good Food magazine

200 g shortcrust pastry
200 g smoked salmon
2 eggs
2 tablespoons chopped dill
280 ml single cream

Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Line a tart tin with the shortcrust pastry and line with a round of greasproof paper and a layer of baking beans. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for about 5 minutes, until golden. Take out the crust from the oven and let cool.

Cut the smoked salmon into strips and spread evenly over the bottom of the crust. Whisk the eggs, cream and dill and pour over the smoked salmon.

Bake for 20 minutes until the filling has set and the top is golden.