I love making these small chocolate tartlets, and have found many dessert uses for the cream cheese dough.
I use it for mini tartlets, and for a variety of full-sized tarts and pies; I use an amended version for rugelach.
But I never crossed the line and made them with a savory filling... until recently.
I was looking for an appetizer to pair with a bottle of Whispering Angel Rosé. Knowing the wine pairs well with goat cheese, I thought I should create some little goat-cheese tartlets. You can read about this pairing on the Provence WineZine.
I took the original recipe for the dough (seriously, it could not be any easier) and added salt and rosemary. The first version begged for more rosemary; for the second version I doubled it. My taste testers said even more would be fine! (It doesn’t have to be rosemary, by the way - many other herbs would work well, too!)
Using the proportions of my chocolate tart recipe, I started on the filling.
I got fresh chèvre at the farmers market from Alethea at Fiore di Capra. Wow, I wish you all could get her cheeses! She is quite an artist. I enriched her chèvre with some mushrooms, shallot, Aleppo pepper, brandy, and an egg.
These tarts are best served warm from the oven; I tried them at room temperature, and they were lacking. Following the recipe, I give instructions on how to make them in advance so they can be reheated and served right out of the oven.
Now, I need to see what other recipes I can come up with for these savory tart shells!
~ David
Chèvre and Mushroom Tartlets
1cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
3 ounces cream cheese, cut into 3 pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 ounces mushrooms, minced
1 small shallot, minced
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon brandy
4 ounces fresh chèvre (goat cheese)
1 egg
3/4 ounce grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
piment d’Esplette or paprika
To make the dough, place the flour, salt, and rosemary in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times. Add the butter and cream cheese and process until the ingredients form a ball of dough.
Divide the dough into 24 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, flatten them slightly, then place them in the cups of a mini muffin tin. Shape each piece into a mini tart shell, then place the pan in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Melt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the mushrooms, shallots, and Aleppo pepper, and sauté until the mushrooms have released their liquid and the shallots are softened - about 3-5 minutes. Add the milk, mix well, then add the chèvre. Stir the mixture over medium heat until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat and add the egg and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir quickly to blend thoroughly.
Using a teaspoon, fill each tart shell 3/4 full (the filling will expand during baking). Sprinkle the top of each tart with some piment d’Esplette or paprika. Bake for 28 minutes. Serve warm.
Makes 24.
Note: to make these in advance, I recommend baking them for 22 minutes, then keeping them refrigerated. About 1/2 hour prior to serving, preheat the oven to 350°F and then bake them for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.
Labels: appetizer, chèvre and mushroom tartlets, cream cheese pastry, goat cheese tartlets, savory, whispering angel
