Recipes - Pies and Tarts

I often make tarts, both savory and sweet, and get asked for the recipes. So I thought it might be fun to teach others how to make tarts and perhaps try some new recipes myself. I was surprised that so many people wanted to join this class and had to divide the participants into 3 groups.

My first tart making session was with a group of six young women whose enthusiasm and creativity made it worth the time and effort. I was thrilled to know that there are young people today who don’t just think of going to fast food places and grocery stores to buy ready-made foods. They are not intimidated by recipes that ask for more than opening a box of brownie mix and adding water. The best part of this session was the individual fruit tarts that each person in this group made. 

 Look at their beautiful fruit tart creations. Give me such students any day! My photography could have been better!!

I would love to know which tart impressed you the most. Please post your comment at the bottom of this post.

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My second group was equally enthusiastic and we made more tarts and tartlets than we had planned to. Of course I had to try something new so I made a filling of potatoes, peas and cauliflower spiced with cumin seeds and coriander powder and made mini tartlets for the class to taste as soon as they arrived. 

The group like them so the recipe is included here.

Nothing like a feeling of competition to bring out the creativity in people. Look at the second group's fruit tarts below.

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RECIPES
Basic Tart Crust

Yield: 2 - 11” tart crusts

Ingredients:

·       3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (1 pound)

·       1 stick butter + 1 stick shortening (1/2 pound in all)

·       2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

·       1 teaspoon salt

·       1 teaspoon white vinegar

·       1 egg, beaten

·       4 Tablespoons (¼ C) cold water (add more if necessary)

Directions:

1.     In a food processor pulse together flour, salt and sugar. Add butter and shortening. Pulse 8 -10 times until the butter pieces are pea size. This can be done by hand or with with a pastry blender too. I use my kitchen aid and it works every time.

2.     In a small bowl, combine the water, vinegar, and egg.

3.     While pulsing the crumb mixture in the processor, drizzle in the liquid. Blend all ingredients to form a ball. Add more water if necessary.

4.     Divide dough into 2 equal parts, wrap each in plastic wrap and press into disks. Chill dough for at least one hour. Dough may be frozen for up to 2 months.

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Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Dough)

Yield: 1 10” tart crust

Ingredients:

·       1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

·       ¼ cup sugar

·       ¼ tsp. salt

·       ¼ tsp. vanilla extract

·       1 egg yolk + 1T whipping cream

·       1¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions:

1.     Beat the butter and sugar in a medium-size bowl until creamy.

2.     Add the salt, vanilla and egg yolk and mix until completely combined.

3.     Add the flour and mix only until there are no dry patches.

4.     Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and press into a 4" disk. Chill several hours or overnight until firm.

5.     Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, lightly dusting the dough with some flour. Roll out the dough into a 12 inch circle. The parchment paper will make the dough easier to roll out.

6.     Chill the sheet of dough inside the parchment paper for a few minutes.

7.     Remove the top sheet of paper and invert the dough into a 10 inch tart pan. Peel off the remaining piece of paper, press the dough into the corners of the pan and pinch off any dough overhang. Use the dough scraps to patch any cracks.

8.     Let the tart shell rest in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.

9.     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Transfer the tart directly from the freezer to the oven. Bake until slightly golden, about 15 minutes. Check the pastry halfway through baking and pat down any bubbles that may have formed. Let cool before filling.

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Leek and Goat Cheese Tart

• 10” basic tart crust blind-baked at 375F for 15 min
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream or crème fraiche
• 1 large egg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1t fresh thyme
• ½ cup crumbled goat cheese (or ricotta)
• 1 ½ cups cooked leeks or a combination of leeks and onions (see below)
• Optional: toss in some crisped pancetta or bacon

Set oven at 375 F.

1. Whisk milk, cream, egg, thyme and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle ¼ cup cheese over bottom of warm crust; spread leek mixture and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the leeks.
3. Pour milk mixture over the filling.
4. Bake until filling has puffed, is golden in spots, and center looks set, 35 to 45 minutes.
5. Transfer to rack; cool slightly. Remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cooking the Leeks/Onions:

•  2T olive oil or butter
•  4 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 3-4 cups) and washed thoroughly
• 2 tablespoons water
•  ½ teaspoon salt

Heat oil, add leeks/onions and saute for 2 min. Add water and salt, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until the leeks are tender. It may take longer if the leeks are tough.

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Spinach and Feta Tartlets

• 1 puff pastry sheet 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, (10 ounces), thawed and squeezed dry
• ½ C feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ C milk or cream
• 1 teaspoon dried dill (or 1 tablespoon fresh dill)
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.   Microwave the spinach for 5 minutes, cool and chop until it is fine.

3.   Unfold the puff pastry sheet and cut it into 12 pieces (or 2” rounds using a biscuit cutter). Roll each piece into a square large enough to fit into a muffin cup (if using mini muffin pan, cut the pastry sheet into more pieces. place puff pastry squares in a muffin pan to form cups. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

4.   Make the filling: In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and salt; cook until garlic is tender, 1 to 2 minutes.  Add spinach and cook until all the moisture evaporates. Remove from heat and let it cool.

5.    In a large bowl mix spinach mixture, feta, parmesan, dill, and pepper. Fold in eggs (beaten with milk/cream) until combined.

6.   Pour the filling into the puff pastry cups.

7.   Bake until the top is golden brown (and the middle of the tart is set if making a 9” tart), about 20-30 minutes for tartlets and 30-40 minutes for the 10” tart.

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Shepherd’s Pie

• ·      1 lb ground beef or lamb 
• ·      2T Olive oil
• ·      1T flour
• ·      5 cloves garlic, chopped
• ·      1/2 C diced carrots
• ·      1/2 C peas
• ·      1/2 C diced onion
• ·      1t dried thyme (more if fresh)
• ·      1t dried rosemary (more if fresh)
• ·      1T worcestershire sauce
• ·      1/2 C tomato puree
• ·      3 russet potatoes (to have 4 C mashed potatoes)
• ·      2 egg yolks
• ·      2T butter
• ·      1/4 C grated parmesan
• ·      1/2 C red wine
• Salt and pepper

1.    Peel the potatoes. Cut into 2” pieces, cover with water in a saucepan and boil until fork tender. Drain the water. Keep warm.

2.   Heat olive oil. Add meat and cook until browned. Drain the excess fat. Add the flour and stir to coat the meat.

3.   Add garlic, onion, carrots and peas. Cook for a few minutes. Add the herbs, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and the tomato puree. Cook for another 3 min. Add wine if using and cook until most of the moisture evaporates and the sauce sticks to the meat.

4.   Pass the potatoes through a ricer or mash them using a masher. Add the butter, egg yolks, parmesan and salt.

5.    Layer the meat into a casserole (or 8 individual bowls). Top with a generous helping of mashed potatoes spreading them to cover the entire surface of the pie. Sprinkle parmesan on top. Create peaks using a fork. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes or until the top starts browning.

Serve warm.

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Fruit Tart

Pate Sucre: 1 - 10” crust (or 6 small 4” tart crusts)

Pastry Cream:

• 2 C milk
• ½ C sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 C cornstarch
• 1T vanilla
• 2T butter (if richer taste is desired)

Apricot Glaze: (optional)

·      ½ cup (125 grams) apricot jam or preserves

·      1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or water (can also use other liqueurs) 

Topping:

·      2 - 3 cups mixed fruit, such as raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, kiwi, orange segments, blueberries

Pastry Cream: 

1.    In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together with a whisk. (Never let the mixture sit too long or you will get pieces of egg forming.) Sift the cornstarch (corn flour) and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Add the milk and mix thoroughly.

2.   Place the egg/milk mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes very thick and it is hard to stir.

3.   Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the butter. Pour into a clean bowl to stop the cooking and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days. Beat before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.

Apricot Glaze: 

1.    Heat the apricot jam or preserves and water (if using) in a small saucepan over medium heat (microwaving works too) until liquid (melted). Remove from heat and strain the jam through a fine strainer to remove any fruit lumps. (If using, add the liqueur at this point.)  Let cool until it is only slightly warm.

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Chocolate-Hazelnut Tart

Ingredients

• 1 tart crust, frozen in the tart pan
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup toasted, peeled, and chopped hazelnuts
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

1.    Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2.   Spread hazelnut in a pan, toast in the oven for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and using a towel or paper towel, rub the skins off. Chop into small pieces.

3.   In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, salt, and the flour.

4.   Lightly beat the eggs and add corn syrup, melted butter and vanilla. Add the flour mixture.

5.    Add hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Stir well. Pour the mixture into the tart/pie crust. Bake for 1 hour.

6.   Cool the tart for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Note: You can substitute pecans for the hazelnuts. Do not toast the pecans.

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 Vegetable Tartlets