Martian Sluts
At zoo_music_girl's request, here is the recipe (well, approximately) for Martian Sluts, also known as little green tarts;
(Makes 12)
For the pastry;
Mix together 2oz of wholewheat flour with 2oz self-raising flour, plus a good pinch of salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of dry mustard powder (or ready-made mustard, if that's what you have), and maybe a pinch of cayenne if you fancy it. Into this, rub (or food-process) 2oz marge or butter, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in 1 1/2 oz (or thereabouts) of grated parmesan or other strong hard cheese. Add just enough cold water to bring it together cleanly. Let the pastry dough rest for half an hour or so if possible.
Roll out fairly thinly, cut out circles with a pasty cutter thingy, and use to line a mince pie tray, greased. stab holes in the tart cases with a fork. Bake at GM 4, 180oc, for about 8-10 minutes or until golden.
For the filling:
(This is where it all gets a bit approximate!)
In a bowl, crumble/mash about half a block (100g) of feta. Grind or chop a dessert-spoon or so each of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Add to the cheese with about 3 teaspoonfuls of ready-made pesto (The La Sacla stuff is good!). Mix thoroughly, trying to get rid of any big lumps of cheese. Taste a bit, to see if the balance of cheese, seeds, and pesto seems right, and adjust according to taste.
Put a heaped teaspoon of the cheese/pesto mix into each pasty case, and top with a couple of pine nuts. Bake for another 10 minutes or so, at GM 4 or 5.
If you wanted to make the filling go further, for example to make a single big tart rather than lots of little ones, you could add a beaten egg or two and a splash of cream, to make a more quiche-like filling, or you could cut the mixture with fromage frais or similar. You can also add roasted cherry tomatoes (half them, drizzle with olive oil in a roasting dish, bung them in a low-ish oven for an hour, maybe with some fresh basil leaves if you like).
The other tarts I did were filled with sherry-cooked onions (thinly slice some onions, start frying gently in a splash of olive oil; when they start to look a bit dry, add a splash of sherry and stir. Carry on cooking gently and stirring periodically so they don't catch. Add another splash of sherry every time they start looking dry. Carry on cooking for 40 minutes or so, or until they go a nice brown colour and are all nice and soft and sweet and yummy), roasted cherry tomatoes, and goat's cheese, also baked for 10 minutes or so.
(Makes 12)
For the pastry;
Mix together 2oz of wholewheat flour with 2oz self-raising flour, plus a good pinch of salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of dry mustard powder (or ready-made mustard, if that's what you have), and maybe a pinch of cayenne if you fancy it. Into this, rub (or food-process) 2oz marge or butter, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in 1 1/2 oz (or thereabouts) of grated parmesan or other strong hard cheese. Add just enough cold water to bring it together cleanly. Let the pastry dough rest for half an hour or so if possible.
Roll out fairly thinly, cut out circles with a pasty cutter thingy, and use to line a mince pie tray, greased. stab holes in the tart cases with a fork. Bake at GM 4, 180oc, for about 8-10 minutes or until golden.
For the filling:
(This is where it all gets a bit approximate!)
In a bowl, crumble/mash about half a block (100g) of feta. Grind or chop a dessert-spoon or so each of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Add to the cheese with about 3 teaspoonfuls of ready-made pesto (The La Sacla stuff is good!). Mix thoroughly, trying to get rid of any big lumps of cheese. Taste a bit, to see if the balance of cheese, seeds, and pesto seems right, and adjust according to taste.
Put a heaped teaspoon of the cheese/pesto mix into each pasty case, and top with a couple of pine nuts. Bake for another 10 minutes or so, at GM 4 or 5.
If you wanted to make the filling go further, for example to make a single big tart rather than lots of little ones, you could add a beaten egg or two and a splash of cream, to make a more quiche-like filling, or you could cut the mixture with fromage frais or similar. You can also add roasted cherry tomatoes (half them, drizzle with olive oil in a roasting dish, bung them in a low-ish oven for an hour, maybe with some fresh basil leaves if you like).
The other tarts I did were filled with sherry-cooked onions (thinly slice some onions, start frying gently in a splash of olive oil; when they start to look a bit dry, add a splash of sherry and stir. Carry on cooking gently and stirring periodically so they don't catch. Add another splash of sherry every time they start looking dry. Carry on cooking for 40 minutes or so, or until they go a nice brown colour and are all nice and soft and sweet and yummy), roasted cherry tomatoes, and goat's cheese, also baked for 10 minutes or so.