Shallot and blue cheese tarts
These mini shallot Tatins, or French-style puff pastry tarts, with blue cheese make a beautiful vegetarian starter that is easy but designed to impress.
- 50g butter
- 700g large shallotspeeled and halved
- 25g unrefined soft brown sugar
- 1 clove garlicfinely chopped
- 500g puff pastrythawed if frozen
- a pinch dried chilli flakes
- 100g blue cheesecut into 6 slices
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal474
- fat31.8g
- carbs38.8g
- fibre1.8g
- protein10.6g
- salt1.33g
Method
step 1
Heat the butter in a large, non-stick frying pan. Add the shallots, sugar and garlic and cook over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes. The shallots should be just tender and the pan juices syrupy and bubbling. Season then remove from the heat.
step 2
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Roll out the pastry large enough to cut out 6 × 15cm circles. Sprinkle some chilli flakes in 6 × 10cm tartlet or Yorkshire pudding tins (if you only have loose-bottomed tins, line them with a circle of parchment paper that comes up the sides, to stop them leaking). Then divide the shallot mixture between them and lay a circle of pastry on top of each, tucking any excess down the sides around the shallots. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry has risen and turned golden. Invert the tarts onto serving plates and put a slice of blue cheese on top of each one to melt.