Puff pastry savoury tarts
These tasty individual tarts are brilliant for a quick but stylish supper. They can be baked straight away or prepared the day before and cooked just before serving. They also work well as canapés if you make them smaller.
I like to offer two different toppings per person. For each of the topping ideas you will need half of the pastry and crème fraîche filling. Serve with a green salad.
Ingredients
For the base
- 1 x 320g/11½oz ready-rolled puff pastry
- 1 free-range egg
- 2 tsp milk
For the crème fraîche filling
- 200g/7oz crème fraîche
- 2 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 heaped tsp thyme, finely chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the smoked trout, dill and horseradish (makes 4 tarts)
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 5g/â…› oz finely chopped dill
- 75²µ/2½´Ç³ú cream cheese
- 120g/4oz smoked trout (or salmon if preferred), roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp hot horseradish sauce
- ½ quantity crème fraîche filling (see above)
For the brie, bacon and cranberry topping (makes 4 tarts)
- ½ quantity crème fraîche filling (see above)
- 120g/4oz brie, cut into 12 thin slices
- 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1cm/½in pieces
- 8 tsp cranberry sauce
- handful rocket
For the ricotta, anchovy and spinach with chilli (makes 4 tarts)
- 120g/4oz spinach, lightly steamed
- ½ quantity crème fraîche filling (see above)
- 4 anchovies, finely chopped
- 75²µ/2½´Ç³ú ricotta
- pinch red chili flakes
For the chestnut, pesto and cheddar with onion chutney (makes 4 tarts)
- ½ quantity crème fraîche filling (see above)
- 80g/¾oz strong cheddar cheese, grated
- 4 heaped tsp basil pesto
- 60g/2¼oz cooked, peeled chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 4 heaped tsp onion chutney
Method
For the base, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 and line two flat baking trays with non-stick baking parchment.
Unroll the pastry and cut into 8 equal-sized rectangles. In a cup, whisk the egg and milk together and brush over both sides of each rectangle. Space the pastry out on the baking trays.
To make a crust, use a sharp knife to draw a border 1cm/½in from the edge all the way round each rectangle. Then make a criss-cross pattern in the middle. Repeat with the other rectangles.
Bake for ten minutes, or until lightly golden-brown and puffed up. Leave to cool before making the crème fraîche filling and adding your choice of topping(s).
For the crème fraîche filling, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
For the smoked trout, dill and horseradish topping, mix the spring onions, dill, cream cheese, trout and horseradish and stir in half the crème fraîche filling. Spread over the middle of 4 cooked pastry rectangles and bake for 10–12 minutes, or until golden-brown.
For the Brie, bacon and cranberry topping, divide and spread half the crème fraîche filling on 4 cooked pastry rectangles. Top with the Brie and then bacon. Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until golden-brown. Serve hot with a spoonful of cranberry sauce and a few leaves of rocket on top.
For the ricotta, anchovy and spinach with chilli, squeeze out any excess water from the spinach and roughly chop. Mix the chopped spinach with half the crème fraîche filling and add the anchovies, ricotta and chilli flakes. Divide among 4 cooked pastry rectangles and spread. Bake for 12–15 minutes.
For the chestnut, pesto and cheddar with onion chutney topping, in a bowl combine half the crème fraîche filling with the cheddar, pesto and chestnuts. Divide among 4 cooked pastry rectangles and spread. Bake for 12–15 minutes. Serve hot with a spoonful of chutney.
Recipe Tips
These pastry tarts can be fully prepared and stored in the fridge up to a day in advance. Allow an extra 4–5 minutes to cook.