Italian Tartlets

Makes 15 Tartlets
Prep Time 10 mins
Cooking Time 45 mins, 25 mins for the peppers, 20 minutes for the pastry
Ingredients

• 1 Packet ready made puff pastry (approx 340g/12oz)
• 1 Free range egg, beaten
• Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 Yellow pepper (Capsicum)
• Chopped fresh tomato
• Chopped sundried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil, drained and blitzed in a blender
• Feta cheese, crumbled
• Small jar of Pesto
• Handful of fresh chopped basil, in extra virgin olive oil (see Cook’ tips)

Method

• Cut the pepper into 4, deseed, place into a small roasting dish.
• Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the peppers and roast in a preheated oven 375°F/190°C/Gas mark 5 for 25 minutes, turn over once, half way through
• Allow to cool slightly and skin, slice thinly
• Meanwhile, roll out the pastry, fairly thin, approx 3mm
• Divide into 15 rectangle shapes and score a 1cm border around the edges
• Place on a non stick baking tray, and brush with the egg wash
• Sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese, if preferred
• Bake the pastry in a preheated oven for approx 20 minutes (see Cook’s tips)
• Remove the tartlets from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes
• Using the handle of a knife, gently push down the risen centres
• Transfer to a serving plate and fill the middles with your choice
• I used 3 different fillings
• No. 1. ½ tsp pesto, to line the base, a little chopped pepper and fresh chopped tomato, then topped with basil in olive oil
• No. 2. ½ tsp pesto, to line the base, a pinch of crumbled feta cheese, a sprinkling of sundried tomatoes
• No. 3. ½ tsp pesto to line the base, a little fresh chopped tomato, then topped with a pinch of parmesan cheese and basil in olive oil

Cook's tips

• As I’ve made a mixed plate of tartlets the ingredients are for what you see in the photo. If you don’t pack the filling in too tight you could use 2 packets of puff pastry. If you’re going to make a batch of one type, just increase the ingredients to you liking
• Baking the pastry: as every oven is slightly different, keep an eye on them. The packet recommended 25 minutes, but they were risen and golden by 20 minutes. You could put the pastry in at the same time as the peppers, but I like to prep everything first.
• Once you’ve taken the sundried tomatoes out of their olive oil, use the oil to flavour the basil

Equipment

• 2 Large baking trays
• Blender
• Serving plate

Shopping List

• 1 Packet ready made puff pastry (approx 340g/120z)
• 1 Free range egg
• Parmesan cheese
• 1 Yellow pepper (Capsicum)
• Fresh tomato
• Chopped sundried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil
• Feta cheese
• Small jar of Pesto
• Fresh chopped basil

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