These tarts came about after a lucky find at the local déchetterie. Three apparently brand new Yorkshire pudding tins on the table where people leave good useable items for others to help themselves to. I don't think I have seen tins like this for sale in France so suspect they came from an English household. We will never know!
I spotted them and swooped before anyone else did - the table is, I suspect, a good source of items for people to increase their own stock for sale at brocantes!
Thinking they would be great for making not Yorkshire puddings but small tarts for a starter or lunch, I took them home. Not long afterwards I stumbled upon a recipe for Prosciutto, pear and Brie aperitif sized tartlets, that could be adapted for larger versions.
They worked really well, looked slightly rustic but were tasty and the perfect size for a light starter. The only tricky part was finding the right object to use as a template to cut circles of pastry exactly the right size. It needed to be about 1cm larger in diameter than the holes in the tin so that there was not too much overlap or shrinkage. I tried various saucers, jars and plates but eventually found a terracotta dish at the back of the cupboard that was just right. It later occurred to me that we have a selection of new plant pot saucers that I could have tried!
One pack of pastry will make four tarts of this size with trimmings which can be made into something else, such as sausage rolls, mince pies, jam tarts or cut up and frozen to be used as the topping for a jumblefruit pie. I imagine that the recipe would work well with other fillings too, such as smoked salmon, mushrooms, lardons, and many other cheeses.
Ingredients
A pack of ready made, ready rolled puff pastry
8 rashers of prosciutto (or similar)
1 pear
8 slices of Brie
1 egg, beaten
A few sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)
Method
Remove the pack of pastry from the fridge about 15 minutes before you intend to use it, otherwise it can crack when you unroll it.
Grease the four holes of a Yorkshire pudding tin, or similar tart tins. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180° fan / gas mk 6.
Unroll the pastry and cut out 4 circles using a cutter, template, dish or clean plant pot saucer about 1 cm larger in diameter than the holes in the tin. Press gently into the holes, avoiding leaving a bubble underneath the pastry. Crinkle 2 slices of prosciutto into each tart.
Peel the pear and cut in half vertically. Remove the core using a melon baller or teaspoon and slice thinly. Divide the slices between the tarts and arrange on top of the prosciutto.
Lay two slices of Brie on top of the pear. Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg. Sprinkle thyme leaves over the top.
Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
Serve warm. Can be made ahead and reheated from cold in a hot oven for a few minutes.
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