Mushroomz are Zowza, EZ, and QUICK in This Savory Puffed Pastry Tart With a Voluptuous Fig Glaze.

Appetizers / March 31, 2014

Everything is so FFAAAAST these day. Not to mention that the older the I get, the less I believe each year actually contains 365 individual sunrises and sunsets. Lately, birthdays seem more like threats than celebrations, and when I run into a friend in the supermarket and we do the math to calculate the last time we saw one another, we both become mutual non-believers in the physical realm of time. Now that I think of it, I also question whether each day has 24 hours, and certainly 60 seconds is seriously over estimating how long it takes for a minute to pass. Whew! I’m tired already. That’s why, when it is the weekend, I often like FAST but amazing appetizers. How do I accomplish this? My MUSHROOM AND SHALLOT SAVORY TART WITH FIG GLAZE is the quickest way I know to appetizer-love in a flash, and even though it takes hardly any time at all, it is also EZ. The flavors feel luxurious, the puff pastry looks very French, and the golden colored fig glaze is like topping the whole thing with a necklace of beautiful amber. Time officially stopped in its tracks in one fell swoop!

See! Below I’ve posted lots of pictures, and the recipe has lots of step by step instructions.

Mushroom, Shallot and Fig Tarts

Makes 20 tarts

Ingredients:

1 large shallot, sliced into thin slices
4 cups chopped cremini mushrooms, stems removed
1/3 C grated English Cheddar cheese
2 T butter + more for greasing
2 T olive oil
1 tsp flour
1/3 C chicken stock
1 T finely chopped fresh rosemary
¾ C fig jam
A few drops of white balsamic vinegar
1 sheet of puffed pastry, thawed, and cut into rounds that are 2 and a quarter diameter.

Direction:

Combine shallots and mushrooms. Heat a large sauté pan with 2 T butter and 2 T olive oil. Add half the rosemary after about 2 minutes. Stir. Add salt and pepper. Brown the mushrooms and shallots until onions almost caramelized. Pull off heat and add the flour, then the stock. Put back on stove and stir in and let reduce for a minute or two. Remove from heat, put in heat safe bowl, add the cheese and set aside.
In another small saucepan, heat the fig jelly/jam and the white balsamic vinegar just until hot. Set aside.
Roll out one of the two puff pastry squares that come in the package. With a 2 ¼ diameter cookie cutter or glass, cut round shapes out of the dough. You may have to fold and roll one more time to get the 20 rounds out of the dough. Then, using a cut with a diameter just a bit smaller than the cut shape, gently press into the dough to score it but not cut through. Thoroughly butter a cookie sheet or baking sheet. Put the puff pastry rounds on the sheet. They can all fit. They shouldn’t touch, but can be close. Place a small amount of the mushroom mixture on each round. Place in a 400 degree oven for about 14 or 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oven, let cool for about 10 minutes. Transfer to serving plate. Drizzle with the fig glaze. Sprinkle with the remaining rosemary.

Notes: You may have a bit of the mushroom mixture left over. Just keep in fridge to top bakes potatoes! You can use white wine in place of stock, and then you may need a bit more salt. You can use dark instead of white balsamic, but don’t use a strong flavor. A fig balsamic would of course be ideal. – Store in the refrigerator covered.