2 Savory Tarts, and how to roast tomatoes.

We had a delicious Easter dinner yesterday, dijon and garlic roasted rack of lamb, maple glazed carrots and parsnips, steamed asparagus with slivers of garlic, and mashed potatoes.

We also had a friend join us who is a vegetarian, so I made her 2 different tarts using 1 package of puff pastry. The first was a tapenade and roasted tomato tart, and the second was a marinated mini mozzarella, basil and fresh tomato tart with oregano.

Both were incredibly easy and absolutely delicious!

Begin with the DuFour Puff Pastry. Defrost in the refrigerator for a couple hours. While the pastry defrosts, thinly slice 3 campari tomatoes and lay them on either an olive oil rubbed cookie sheet, or better use a Silpat sheet. Drizzle the tomatoes with a little olive oil, a pinch of kosher salt, a little Italian seasoning, and a good couple grinds of black pepper. Bake in the oven at 325 for 15-20 minutes, They should be shriveled, but not burnt. You can store these tomatoes in a little olive oil in a jar or tupperware in the fridge for a couple weeks.

Next, marinate the mozzarella. You can also do this 1 day in advance.
1 C. fresh drained mozzarella ( I used the tiny mozzarella balls)
1/4 C. olive oil
3 cubes frozen garlic
pinch of kosher salt
couple grinds of black pepper

Combine all ingredients and let mozzarella marinate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

To make Tapenade Tart:

Preheat oven to 375.

Cut DuFour Puff pastry in half, (half is for this tart, the other half is for the other tart). Place the puff pastry on a silpat lined cookie sheet or a cookie sheet brushed with olive oil. If you can't find puff pastry, you can also bake off a pie crust and make something similar.

Spoon enough pre-purchased olive tapenade to cover the tart, leaving just a little of the edges showing. Lay the roasted tomatoes over the tapenade and sprinkle a small amount of grated Parmesan cheese of the tomatoes.

Bake for 25- 30 minutes or until the tart is golden brown. Remove and cut into slices. Serve while hot.

To make the Mozzarella tart:

I baked both tarts at the same time on different cookie sheets. Lay the other half of the puff pastry on a cookie sheet (same as above) and lay out tiny mozzarella in row, leaving room for a row of sliced tomatoes between each row.

I used a couple of the fresh campari tomatoes,(not roasted) sliced them into thin slices, and squeezed the seeds and juice out with my hands so I just had the "meat" of the tomato. I placed the sliced tomato in between the mozzarella rows and finally added 3-4 chiffonaded basil leaves to the top of the tart. I added a little of the mozzarella marinade and a good shake of dried oregano to the tart before baking it. The tarts both took about 25-30 minutes.

They were both delicious, and make beautiful springtime hors' d'oeuvres or meals with a simple salad.

Olive, goat cheese and sun-dried tomato tart

We have a (post) holiday party to go to tonight and were asked to bring something.

I made a delicious tart that I wanted to share with you. As always, it is easy and super fast, and if you're like me, the ingredients are staples in your pantry.

1 package DuFour Puff Pastry (may be kept in the freezer, but refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using)
1 12 oz. log goat cheese
3/4 of a tube of sun-dried tomato paste
1/2 C. julienned sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
pinch of ground black pepper
1/2 C. prepared olive tapenade or olivada
1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Lay puff pastry on a Silpat lined cookie sheet, or brush cookie sheet with olive oil before laying pastry down.

Combine goat cheese, tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl, mix to combine. Spread goat cheese mixture on puff pastry with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.

Next spread tapenade over goat cheese and a pinch of ground black pepper. Finally, sprinkle Parmesan cheese over tapenade and bake for 10-12 minutes or until Parmesan cheese is melted and brown and the puff pastry of golden brown.

Remove and either cut into bite sized pieces or cut with a small round biscuit cutter. Serve warm or room temperature.

Peppermint Bark, and Leek & Proscuitto tart

It was my friends birthday today. She asked me to come over to teach her how to make peppermint bark. It is very easy and makes great holiday gifts.

Melt 3 cups of either white or dark chocolate in a double boiler on medium heat. While the chocolate melts, crush 4-5 candy canes in a Ziploc bag. The easiest way I've found to do this is to place it on a cutting board and lay a dish towel over the plastic bag. Hit it with a meat pounder until it it thoroughly crushed and dust-like.

When the chocolate has melted add in 1 Tbs. of peppermint oil, and half of the crushed candy canes, stir to combine.

Pour the mixture onto a Silpat lined cookie sheet and spread until 1/2" on thickness. Sprinkle the remaining candy cane dust to to the top of the bark and let cool. Once cool, cut with a knife into 3-4" pieces.

We made white and dark chocolate bark today.

We also made a really yummy tart. She made pate brise (dough) from scratch, but I would use the DuFour Puff Pastry, or you could even use a pie crust and brush it with a little olive oil and kosher salt.

Anyhow... she chopped and cleaned 2 leeks, then sauteed them with about 7 slices of chopped proscuitto in a little olive oil on medium high heat. Once the leeks were soft (about 8 minutes) we added in a pinch of ground black pepper and removed the pan from the heat.

She placed the dough in a tart pan and added lemon infused shredded cheese. We wanted to use goat cheese, but didn't have any. You could really use any kind of a hard cheese, and even mix the,- gruyere, goat, parmesan, aged gouda.

Mix in 1/2 C. of prepared olive tapenade to the leek mixture and spread over the cheese. Finish with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese and bake in a 425 degree oven for 35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

I was thinking this would also be delicious with some sun-dried tomatoes, and some slivers of asparagus and toasted pine nuts.

I was very inspired by today's tart and can't wait to play around with some different variations.