These tasty tartlets are a perfect starter for a meal with friends.
Ingredients (for six)
- 6 tablespoons of red onion marmalade/jam
- Mixed salad leaves plus a couple of endives/chicory
- 6 teaspoons of salad dressing (see our recipe below)
- Puff pasty (one frozen block if not made from fresh)
- A little liquid honey
- A teaspoon of dried of fresh thyme
- 1 beaten egg
- 9 cherry tomatoes
Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees.
We have a great variety of goat’s cheese in France and the one we use for these tartlets comes from a small village of Albine, just 10 km away. You may not have as much choice, however most supermarkets around the world sell a goats cheese “log” or roll. Cut the log it into discs of approximately 2 cm and then into either 4 or 6 wedges, depending upon the size.
Roll out your pastry until it’s less than 1/2 centimetre thick and, using an espresso saucer, cut out six discs. Lay these onto a silicon lined baking tray. Place a tablespoon of red onion marmalade in the centre of each disc and roughly arrange the goat’s cheese on top. Drizzle a little honey over the cheese, a sprinkle of dried or fresh thyme and brush a little beaten egg around the edge of each pastry disc and place on a high shelf in your oven for 8-10 mins.
Arrange some mixed leaves in the bottom of your serving bowls; cut the cherry toms in half and place three halves and one endive leaf as shown. Add a teaspoon of salad dressing onto your mixed leaves and (if you have it) a few dots of balsamic glaze on the rim of your plate.
Remove the tartlets from the oven when you can see the edges of the cheese just starting to catch and the pasty is golden & raised. Use a fish slice to carefully place the tartlets on top of the mixed leaves
La Villa’s Salad Dressing
This is a great every-day dressing. You just need a clean jam jar and lid – add 1 teaspoon of Dijon or wholegrain mustard and half fill the jar with a good quality olive oil. Add a pinch of salt & pepper plus one tablespoon each of balsamic vinegar & liquid honey.
Ensure the lid is screwed back on tightly and shake vigorously (keep in the fridge and just top up with the ingredients as & when needed).