Tomato tartlets by Ella's Kitchen
These cheese and tomato tartlets make a fantastic easy lunch for little tummies.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme, plus extra for sprinkling
500 g/1 lb 2 oz ready-made puff pastry
Flour, for dusting
Beaten egg, to glaze
125 g/4½ oz mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
280 g/10 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.
2. Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions over a low heat for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and thyme, then remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool.
3. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 2-3 mm thick. Using an upturned 12 cm/4½ inch diameter small bowl or saucer, cut out 6 rounds and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, score a shallow cut 1 cm/½ inch in from the edge of each round to make a rim. Brush the rims with beaten egg.
4. Divide the mozzarella evenly among the tartlets. Spoon the onion mixture on top, keeping all the filling away from the rims so the pastry can rise at the edges. Top with the tomatoes, cut sides up. Scatter with extra thyme and brush with the remaining oil.
5. Bake the tartlets in the oven for 25 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden. The tartlets are at their best served warm, but they are almost as good served cold on the same day, too.
Ella's Kitchen The Big Baking Book is out now, published by Hamlyn, £14.99, hardback.
