Vegetable Bread Tart

I had about half a loaf of good whole grain bread that needed to be used up and was tired of the usual bread upma, or sandwich or making croutons and this tart seemed like a good idea.

The filling can be anything like for spring rolls (cabbage, carrots, spring onions) or samosa (potatoes, peas, carrots). However, I had some leftover mixed vegetables I had steamed for the kids - corn kernels, green beans, peas and carrots - so, I used that instead. Spinach or other greens would be a good filling too. Or, can use any mince meat or even TVP if preferred, for the filling.

We usually have Neufchatel, Jarlsberg, Parmesan, Mozzarella and Colby-Jack cheese handy at home, so, I use a combination of whatever I am in the mood for while cooking.

Ingredients
2-3 cups steamed vegetables
½ cup Neufchatel cheese
salt and spices to taste
6-8 bread slices
freshly grated Parmesan , or Jarlsberg cheese if handy

rolling pin
cooking spray

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 400°F
2. Prepare the filling: combine the vegetables, Neufchatel cheese and spices, adjust to taste, keep handy
3. Flatten the bread slice, one at a time, with the rolling pin and use a jar lid or cookie ring or something round to cut circles out of the flattened bread, save the edges of the slice after cutting
4. Combine some of the cut away edges of the bread and some grated cheese in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times to break it down a bit, keep handy
5. Spray some cooking spray into muffin pan, place the flattened bread circles carefully into each mold and push down gently, allowing the edges to form a nice flower-like lip
6. Add the filling, and cover with the bread+cheese mixture that was pulsed down coarsely
7. Spray some cooking oil on top and bake in the 400°F oven for about 12-18 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn't char and burn
8. Remove from oven, serve warm with dips or chutneys or simply enjoy it as-is

spinach & cheese mini tarts

On a Sunday a few weeks ago, Ana was taking a nap, D was out at the hardware store or something and I was home dreaming about some deep fried yummy mini samosas. Since I had sort of foolishly, on a whim, told D that I wasn't going to make any fried foods that weekend, I didn't want to give him a chance to say A-ha! I told you...

I thought of baking the samosas instead of deep frying. It didn't feel right, somehow. Am not against baked samosas, and am generally (well, predominantly) a healthy cook and eater, but, I didn't want baked samosas just then.

So, I decided to bake savory mini tarts instead. And, that's how these cute little vegetarian tarts came about.

The filling is just spinach, peas & onions, sautéed with spices, combined with some cheese.

Ingredients

dough: 1 cup flour, plus some for dusting ¼ tsp salt 5 Tbsp butter (or canola oil) a few Tbsp water

filling: ¼ cup cream cheese ¼ cup ricotta cheese ¼ cup grated cheddar 1 cup frozen cut spinach, thawed (or equivalent fresh spinach) handful of frozen peas 1 small yellow onion diced finely 1 tsp canola oil 1 tsp Madras curry powder salt to taste

Preparation

1. Dough: combine the flour and salt in a bowl; rub in the butter to form coarse crumbly mixture; stir in just a few tablespoons of water, a little at a time till the dough comes together; cover with a cling wrap and leave in the fridge for about 30 minutes
2. Heat the oven to 350°F
3. Filling: heat the oil in a pan, add the onions, sauté till translucent, add the peas and spinach, spices, salt and cook till done, making sure the mixture is dry not runny; combine the cheeses in a separate bowl and keep handy
4. Assembly: take the dough from the fridge, roll out into 1/8th inch thick flat layer, cut out 3-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter; grease a muffin tin and line it with dough rounds; add the filling - both veggies and cheese
5. Bake: in the 350°F oven for about 20-25 minutes till pastry crust is done and golden brown
6. Optional: garnish with chopped chives, spring onions or any other fresh herbs