Assortment of Tartlets

For a fun appetizer, snack, or a light dinner if you so wish, this is an assortment of tartlets. Of course, you could only do one of these tartlets if you like.

The tartlets we are going to make here are Salmon with Crème Fraîche and Sun-dried Tomatoes* with Goat Cheese. We will use smoked salmon and tinned sun-dried tomatoes, so it is really easy to prepare.

While preparing the tartlets, start preheating your oven to about 175C (350F).

If you have an oven tray, preheat the oven tray in the oven as well.

We start with the pastry; you can buy pastry dough at the supermarket and you just have to unroll it. I like to further thin it just a bit; you will have to experiment with the dough you find in the supermarket. You can use a drinking glass or another round thing to cut out your pastry.

I used a package of smoked salmon and sliced it up to make it easier to arrange the salmon on the pastry.

Place the salmon in a little heap on the pastry circle and sprinkle on some chives, I just used dried chives from a spice jar.

For the sun-dried tomatoes, I place them so that they open up on the top (see the picture for a better explanation).

And in this little pocket, I place the goat cheese. Now, I'm using a goat cheese spread, which I formed into a little ball. You can do it which ever way you like.

Finally, crinkle up the edges of the pastry; almost as if you are folding the edges in just a little bit. Don't sweat it too much, it does not have to be perfect.

Now we are ready to bake! Place the pastries in the oven on the tray for about 15 minutes; but keep checking in on them. (The pastries on the right are Croissants with Ham and Swiss).

And after 15 minutes or so, your crust should be nicely browned and raised, carefully take the tray out of the oven and plate the tartlets.

Finally, drop a dollop of crème fraîche on the salmon tartlets and drizzle some honey on the sundried tomato tartlets and they are ready to eat!

I love doing these tartlets for a light dinner because, as you saw, it is very easy to do and it has quite a nice mix of textures.

*Tip: Don't throw away your sun-dried tomatoes, refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use your sun-dried tomatoes.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki