These are a great little party piece if you happen to be having a buffet. You could even roll them out for that Boxing Day family gathering you’re just beginning to worry about. The recipe is for whole wheat pastry, which you can make from scratch. If you’re short on time, or if you want to make them gluten-free, then you can always use the pre-made pastry of your choice. Like most buffet food, they can be served either hot or cold, and they are the perfect size for a couple of bites of deliciousness. Give them a practice run and see how you get on.
Prep time: 20 minutes. Cooking time: about 50 minutes, plus chilling time.
Makes approximately 12 tartlets.
Easy to make gluten-free.
Ingredients:
For the Pastry:
250g whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
125g vegan margarine, plus extra for greasing
4 tbsp dairy-free milk
For the Filling:
3 tbsp olive oil
4-5 chestnut mushrooms, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4-5 fresh kale leaves, washed, stalks removed and finely chopped
200ml vegan cream
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
100g humous
60g vegan blue-style cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
A little oil for brushing
Method:
First make the pastry. Put the flour, baking powder, salt and margarine into a mixing bowl and crumble between your fingers until you have a breadcrumb texture. Stir in the milk and then bring together with your hands. Knead into a dough, but don’t overwork it. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
While the pastry is cooling, you can make the tart filling. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the diced mushrooms for about 5 minutes, until they are slightly browned and most of the moisture has evaporated. Add the garlic and fry for a minute more.
Add the chopped kale and cook for another 3 minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients, apart from the brushing oil. Cook for 3-4 more minutes, stirring often, then turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool.
Preheat the oven to gas 6/200C/400F and grease a 12-hole tart tin (the kind you would use for mince pies) with margarine.
Roll the chilled pastry out onto a floured surface to about 5mm thick and use a round pastry cutter to cut out small circles from the dough. Cut out twelve in total, enough to fill each hole in the tin. You will have to roll the pastry out a few times to do this.
Place each pastry round into the tin and press down into shape. Put about 1 ½ tsp of the filling mixture onto the centre of the pastry, then press down slightly with the back of the spoon. The mixture won’t really spread out as it cooks, so you can add a little more if you feel you need to.
Once you have your 12 tartlets, brush them all with a little oil and then place the tart tin in the middle of the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through.
Serve either straight away or chill for later.
