These savory mini tarts are too cute to even be eaten. But then again, they’re too delicious not to be…
It seems like a classic mini tarts recipe, but when you take a closer look, you’ll see that it’s way more sophisticated. The shortcrust pastry doesn’t have its original shell form, but rather, a more modern, “cookie-form”. The pastry gets drizzled with olive paste and homemade eggplant dip, which gives you a serious flavor blast. Next, add a variety of oven-roasted vegetables on top, making every mini tart unique. Top it with some feta cheese and there’s no way you can’t love them.
What I like most about this recipe is that each of the savory mini tarts taste and look different from one another. With their individual toppings, you are basically creating little works of art.
This recipe might seem a little time-consuming for an appetizer. By doubling the amount of shortcrust pastry, you can then use it over the next few days to make a savory spinach pie, or any other pie to your liking!
SAVORY MINI TARTS
INGREDIENTS
Shortcrust Pastry
- 200 g white flour plus more for the work surface
- ½ tsp salt
- 130 g very cold butter cut into small pieces
- 60 ml of water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Eggplant Dip
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 eggplant
- 1 clove of garlic with skin
Filling
- 1 eggplant
- 1 red onion
- 200 g cherry tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 5 tablespoons black olive paste
- 2-3 tbsp black olives pitted
- 2-3 tbsp feta crumbled
INSTRUCTIONS
Shortcrust Pastry
- Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until it’s the size of breadcrumbs. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and ice water. Slowly pour the vinegar water into the food processor, pulsing to combine. Pulse just until the dough begins to hold together, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer it to a clean work surface and pat together, without massaging the dough. Shape the dough into a circle, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
Eggplant Dip
- Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius (350° Fahrenheit), grease a small oven-proof casserole with olive oil. Halve the eggplant lengthwise, place it on the casserole together with garlic clove. Leave the skin on the garlic clove. Bake in a preheated oven at 180° Celsius (350° Fahrenheit) for about 35 minutes until very soft.
- With a spoon, scoop out the flesh of the halved eggplant, put it in the food processor bowl, press the garlic out of the skin, add it in, and pulse, until the dip is smooth, season with a pinch of salt, and put aside.
Filling
- Cut the second eggplant into 2 mm-wide slices. Peel the onion, halve it, and cut it into fine onion rings, without taking the layers of the rings apart. Halve the tomatoes.
- Line the baking tray with parchment paper and grease it with olive oil. Arrange vegetables on top, placing the tomatoes in a separate corner. Drizzle on top a little olive oil and season it with salt. Sprinkle tomatoes with sugar. Bake in the oven (together with the eggplants or the eggplants that will be used for the dip) at 180° Celsius (350° Fahrenheit), for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft, and let them cool.
Assembly
- For the shortcrust pastry, line the baking tray with parchment paper and drizzle with a little olive oil. On a lightly floured, clean work surface, shape the dough into balls weighing approx. 20 g, without massaging the dough. Roll out each ball until 2 mm thick, to a disc-like form of approx. 4 cm in diameter, and place them all on the baking sheet.
- Coat half of the shortcrust pastry rounds with olive paste and the other half with eggplant dip. Distribute the vegetables, olives and feta on the shortcrust pastry, so that each round looks unique.
- Bake at 180° Celsius (350° Fahrenheit), for approx. 25 minutes until the slices are golden brown. Serve immediately with the remaining eggplant dip.
