Roasted Shallot and Red Pepper Tarts

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

12 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 6 servings

Nutritional Info
Per serving: about	-
cal	442442 cal
pro	10 g10g pro
total fat	32 g32g total fat
sat. fat	17 g17g sat. fat
carb	29 g29g carb
fibre	1 g1g fibre
chol	216 mg216mg chol
sodium	536 mg536mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	1616 calcium
iron	1616 iron
vit A	40 %40% vit A
vit C	5555 vit C
folate	3434 folate

Instead of small tarts, you could bake this in a 9-inch (23 cm) quiche pan; just add 1 more egg and increase the cream by 1/4 cup (50 mL). Making pastry in a food processor is a breeze but, of course, you can also make it by hand. Serve on a bed of vinaigrette-dressed watercress.

Ingredients

1 sweet red pepper 1 1sweet red peppersweet red peppers
9 small shallots , or 12 pearl onions9 9small shallotshallots, or 12 pearl onions
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 1tbsp tbspextra virgin olive oil
1-1/3 1-1/3cups cupsfrisee lettuce, watercress leaves or spinach
1 egg 1 1eggeggs
2 egg yolks 2 2egg yolkegg yolks
1 cup 18% cream 1 1cup cup18% cream
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 1/2tsp tspsalt
1/4 tsp white pepper 1/4 1/4tsp tspwhite pepper or pepper
1 pinch nutmeg 1 1pinch pinchnutmeg
1 pinch cayenne pepper 1 1pinch pinchcayenne pepper
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese 1/2 1/2cup cupGruyere cheese or aged provolone cheese
Pastry
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupsall purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt 1/4 1/4tsp tspsalt
1/2 cup cold butter , cubed1/2 1/2cup cupcold butter, cubed
3 tbsp Ice water 3 3tbsp tbspIce water
1 egg yolk 1 1egg yolkegg yolks
1 tsp vinegar 1 1tsp tspvinegar

Preparation

Pastry: In food processor, mix flour with sa< pulse in butter until crumbly. In measuring cup, whisk together water, egg yolk and vinegar; drizzle over flour mixture and pulse just until pastry starts to clump together. Remove and lightly press into disc. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

On lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness. Cut into six 6-inch (15 cm) circles, gently pressing scraps together, rerolling and cutting as necessary. Fit into 4-inch (10 cm) tart shells, leaving pastry slightly higher than edges of pans. Chill for 20 minutes. Line shells with foil; fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place on rimmed baking sheet; bake in bottom third of 400°F (200°C) oven until golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool; remove foil and weights. (Make-ahead: Cover and store at room temperature for up to 8 hours.)

Seed and quarter red pepper. Peel shallots, leaving pointed ends intact. In 13- x 9-inch (3.5 L) metal cake pan, toss together red pepper, shallots and oil. Roast in 425°F (220°C) oven until shallots are tender but not browned, 20 minutes. Remove shallots. Roast red pepper until skin darkens, about 5 minutes longer. Let cool. Peel red pepper and chop coarsely. Cut shallots in half.

Meanwhile, in saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch lettuce until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain and chill under cold water; drain and squeeze out moisture.

In bowl, beat together egg, egg yolks, cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Divide cheese, lettuce, red pepper and shallots among pastry shells; pour in egg mixture. Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven until tip of knife inserted into centre comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: March 2004