The Spanish, in fact many, mediterranean countries will not let you have a drink without a little something on the side to absorb the alcohol- How civilised!
And in that country (Spain) where the sun goes down after ten in summer and where dinner doesn't officially happen before 9pm, "a little something" is all to well appreciated at the beginning of the evening. But having to make a tapas (as evening snacks are called in Spain or pintxos in Basque Country - pronounced 'pinchos'), should not take a great deal of time. After all, who wants to be slaving away when what you should really be doing is indulging in a cold cerveza (a beer - usually a draft- in Spanish, which come standard at 250ml) or a glass of white wine and the balmy evening.
These little tomato, basil and mozzarella tartlets take just minutes to prepare and are full of punchy flavour!
Here's what you'll need:
Makes 20
One packet of puff pastry
Olive oil
20 mini Italian tomatoes
20 basil leaves
50 grams (about) grated mozzarella cheese
Roll out the puff pastry so that it is about a quarter bigger in size. Then cut into squares (four strips down and five across). Brush each square with olive oil. Place a basil leaf on each, top with a good pinch of mozzarella cheese (grate more if you run out) and then a mini tomato cut into halves. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on a greased baking tray and cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown at 180 degrees celsius.
Oooh, anything with basil in it is always amazing! I've actually tried to make this before, and *unfortunately* my pastry (which I tried to make from scratch) was less then perfect ^_~ But will definatly try and make this one using pastry puff's!
ReplyDelete