Summer savouries - tasty tarts

Tasty morsels on pastry plates

These summer savouries are as pleasing on the eye as they are on the palate. Little works of art in a puff pastry frame, just bursting with flavour.

They make yummy lunchtime snacks and casual suppers with a salad or a slaw.

And thanks to pre-made puff pastry, all you need to do is lay it out, tuck over the edges, wash them with a beaten egg, prick the base and fill.

The basic rules are - if it works together on a plate, it will work together on a pastry ... better. The cheese will have melted and the flavours enhanced.

The Tomato & Pesto Pastry (above right) blind bakes the puff pastry first then fills it with pesto, a scattering of juicy cherry tomatoes and some chiffons of prosciutto ham. Back into the oven just to take the chill off the filling, warming it a little. Then finished with a drizzle of Stokes Olive & Balsamic Dressing and a few torn leaves of basil. It looks and tastes wonderful. 


Roll it, fill it, bake it !

Tasty Tomato Tart

You'll need:

• 4 tbsp of soft cheese
• 2 tsp of Stokes Dijon Mustard
• 8 ripe tomatoes
• 375 g of puff pastry
• 1 tsp of dried mixed herbs (Herbes de Provence)
• 3 tbsp of olive oil 
• 3 tbsp of Stokes Olive & Balsamic Dressing

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 7. Slice the tomatoes and lay them in a shallow bowl.

Cover the tomatoes with the olive oil and balsamic dressing, add the dried herbs and stir round gently to cover well. Twist a little sea salt over the tomatoes and leave them to rest in the marinade.

On a floured surface, roll the pastry out into a rectangle. Fold in a border to all edges, about 2 cm deep. Mix the cheese and the mustard and spread it out on the pastry within the border.

Drain off the tomatoes (retaining the marinade - it makes a great dressing for a side salad) and layer them onto the cheese. Brush the border with a beaten egg and bake for 30 minutes until the pastry puffs and turns golden brown. 

Onion Tart

You'll need:

• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 large red onions, chopped into wedges
• 3 tbsp of Stokes Red Onion Marmalade
• 375 g of puff pastry
• 80 g of mature Cheddar cheese, finely grated

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 7. Gently fry the onions in the oil for at least 10 minutes.

Add the red onion marmalade and simmer for 5 minutes more then leave it to cool. The marmalade will sweeten the onions and help the caramalisation.

On a floured surface, roll the pastry out and cut it into a circle approximately 30 cm in diameter. Fold in a border to all edges, about 2 cm deep.

Fill the pastry within the borders with an even covering of onions and cheese, brush the border with a beaten egg and bake for 30 minutes.

Sausage & Apple Tart

You'll need:

• 6 plump butchers sausages (it's the sausages that should be plump)
• 1 large red onion, cut into wedges
• 1 red eating apple, cored, halved and sliced
• 1 tbsp of chopped fresh sage leaves
• 375 g pack of puff pastry
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 7.Cut the sausages into 3 cm chunks (approximately).

In a bowl, mix the apple, onion and sage and cover them well in the oil. Roll the pastry into a rectangle and make the usual border.

Spread the mustard on the pastry within the border and cover evenly with the sausage pieces and apple mixture.

Brush the edges and bake for 30 minutes, making sure the sausage meat is cooked through before you serve.

Our mustards are marvellous, 

our dressings delicious

More foodie thoughts for the week:







Brilliant BBQs - indoors and out here.











BBQ side dishes - the deconstructed BLT and more here.









Competition latest and other Facebook chatter here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

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www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150