MINI MUSHROOM TARTS

THIS TART/PUFF HAS GOT TO BE ONE OF MY FAVOURITES AND ALSO ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR RECIPE TO BE REQUESTED.

I suppose that you agree with me when I say that some dishes are more beautiful than others. Just like that. They have some sort of innate beauty even if sometimes they are just simple and easy to make. I would include in this category the tarts: no matter how you prepare them, they make your meal “happier”. Few of the simplest ingredients can be transformed in a short time in some delicious, extremely flavored tart that I invite you to try to make.

Thee perfect little appetizers! They’re made with puff pastry and take no time at all to whip up!Boom! Flakey puff pastry topped with sauteéd mushrooms, 2 types of cheese and a hint of garlic.

That’s the stuff dreams are made of!

Also, they totally look fancy shmancy but no body really needs to know that the sauteéd mushroom filling can be made up to 24 hours ahead of time.

They’re perfect for parties and they look oh so, elegant. So elegant that you have the guests fooled on how long it actually took to make these bad boys. When you’ve got a party going on, the last thing you want to do is spend too much time on any one dish. Not gonna do it. You’ve gotta simplify and do some do-ahead work. And these mushroom tarts fit right into that agenda.

Look at each of those puff pastry layers and how perfectly they separate from each other. It’s like taking a bite out of 10 potato chips at the same time, only less crunchy, and more buttery. Okay, so not like a potato chip at all, really.

INGREDIENTS:

10 brown mushrooms (champignon)

1 rectangular sheet of puff pastry

80g Philadelphia cream cheese

2 tbs sour cream

50g asiago cheese (Italian cow milks cheese. Good substitute is Romano)

2tbs grated parmesan

2 eggs ( one beaten for the pastry and the other for the cheese)

salt

pepper

chives

2 cloves of garlic

parsley

2tbs olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 190°C

Cut the pastry sheet in four rectangles; brush each of them with the beaten egg; fold the edges (1cm) and brush them with beaten egg. Use a knife to cut through the folded edges and corners. Prick the inside of the tarts shells with a fork and bake them cca 10′ until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. In case the pastry puffed too much inside the shells press it down before it become cold

Turn over the oven to 175°

In a bowl , beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, egg and grated parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil with the garlic ( remove the garlic after the oil gets flavored) in a non stick pan and slightly fry the mushrooms. Add the chopped parsley and remove from the flame.

Pour the cheese mixture in each tart shell, add the mushrooms, some grated asiago , fresh ground pepper and bake