The homeland of tartlets is France. If you translate the name of this dish from French, then literally it means "a small open pie". Small baskets made of unleavened dough have firmly established themselves on our festive tables. They serve salads, all kinds of pates, as well as fruits and sweet creams.
How to make tartlets
You can cook tartlets both separately from the filling, and with it, and they are served to the table both cold and hot. More often, the filling is laid out in ready-made baskets. The baskets are baked from puff pastry, shortbread, sometimes choux pastry. Cheese baskets are very tasty.
The recipe for tartlet dough is relatively simple: 200 grams of butter (pack), a couple of glasses of flour, and a little salt. Water should be added so that the dough is firm enough and does not stick to your hands.
Here are some tips on how to prepare and fill your tartlets:
- It will be much easier to work with the dough for tartlets if you let it lie in the refrigerator for an hour and a half.
- To keep the bottom of the basket even and flat during baking, you need to press down a circle of dough in a mold with dry beans or another weight.
- Do not spare the filling when filling the baskets with it. The more fillings, the tastier the dish.
- If the filling for the tartlets is dry, then grease the tartlets with sauce from the inside.
- The taste of the tartlet and its tenderness depend on how large the pieces are cut for the filling. A well-chopped filling tastes much better. The exception, perhaps, is shrimp, and they decorate the baskets with them.
- It is better to fill large baskets with simple salads, pates, fruit and sweet fillings. You can put expensive fish, red caviar, foie gras or something spicy in small tartlets.
If there is no time or desire to bake the baskets ourselves, then you can buy ready-made ones, but only make the filling.
Caviar tartlets
When decorating a festive table, the question often arises of how to serve red caviar. Tartlets are a very good solution.
To fill 10 - 12 tartlets, we need butter, about half a pack, 2 hard-boiled eggs (only proteins will be needed), a tablespoon of lemon juice, caviar and parsley.
The whites are separated from the yolks and rubbed on a fine or medium grater. The butter should be slightly frozen and rubbed as well. Add lemon juice to the oil, quickly mix it with protein. Put the finished mixture without tamping on the tartlets, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and spread the caviar on top.
Tartlets with shrimps and red caviar
To make 15 tartlets using this recipe, we need:
- 150 g mozzarella
- 5 eggs
- half bell pepper
- a clove of garlic
- 300 g of marinated shrimps
- caviar
- greens
- mayonnaise
1. Finely chop the shrimps.
2. Three grated cheese.
3. Boil eggs, chop whites, three yolks on a grater.
4. Peel and chop the bell pepper.
5. Finely chop the garlic.
6. Gently mix all components, season with mayonnaise, spread on tartlets. Sprinkle with grated yolks on top, decorate with sprigs of herbs, lay out the caviar.
Tartlets with cheese and salmon
Baskets with such a filling can be prepared very quickly and easily. Spread the tartlet with the most delicate cream cheese, sprinkle with finely chopped herbs, add the thinnest slice of lemon to this, decorate with a rose of red fish on top.
If there is no cream cheese, it is quite possible to replace it with slightly melted softened good quality butter.
Making the filling for tartlets is a truly creative process. Experiment with fillers, try different options. And do not forget that tartlets can be not only a delight, a festive table decoration, but also a healthy daily snack.
