Little Pesto and Cheese Tarts

Submitted by English_Rose

"It's so easy to make your own pesto for this tart recipe, and when you bash the garlic and basil together, the pungent basil smell is amazing. If you’d rather not make your own then you can use a good-quality fresh pesto, which is widely available. You can add other ingredients to these tarts if you like – try some chopped peppers or olives on top of the pesto."

 

• Ready In: 42mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• all-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 lb puff pastry
• 4 1⁄2 ounces mozzarella cheese

• for the pesto

• 1⁄2 garlic clove
• 1 ounce fresh basil leaf
• 1 ounce pine nuts
• 2 ounces parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

directions

1. If you are making your own pesto, you will need to put the garlic, a pinch of salt (which will help you to squash the garlic), and the basil leaves into either a pestle and mortar or a food processor. Grind or whizz it into a paste. Add the pine nuts and grind again – if you are using a pestle and mortar, you may need to take it in turns with friends or family to help you bash everything, to stop your arm from aching!
2. Add the cheese and mix well. Spoon the mixture into a jug or bowl and gradually stir in the olive oil until you have a thick sauce that just drops off your spoon.
3. Turn the oven on to 400°F On a flour-dusted worktop, roll out the pastry (unless you are using a sheet) until it’s a few millimetres thick.
4. Using a saucer or big circular cutter that is 5.5in across, cut 6 circles out of the pastry and rest on 2 baking trays in the fridge for 10 minutes. Once chilled, prick the middle of each pastry circle a few times with a fork.
5. Spoon 1 tbsp pesto onto the middle of each pastry circle and spread over evenly, leaving a small border of about 1/2in around the edge. Tear or slice the mozzarella into 6 pieces and put 1 piece on top of each tart. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked.