mushroom tartlets

These tartlets, or tortini salati, as they’re called in Italian, are a wonderful Autumn appetizer. If you wish, you can of course make a big quiche instead of single-portion tartlets. For that, use a big sheet of puff pastry and twice the quantity of the overall ingredients.

I’ve used fresh shiitake, and dried porcini mushrooms soaked in hot water. You can use the porcini soaking water for cooking the mushrooms: it will give this dish a fantastic boost of flavour.
I’ve used 4 square single-portion puff pastry sheets because here in The Netherlands they’re quite common, but you can also cut a big rectangular one in rounds. Flatten them a little with a rolling pin before using them.

Also use lots of herbs, if you like them. They’ll enhance the flavour and the colour of the tartlets.
I added parsley and chives, but oregano and tarragon will taste great too. Try also rosemary and sage after chopping them finely – they’re quite tough. In the end, you can use the herbs of your choice.

Enjoy!

Nicoletta

Photos & styling by me.

You can find the recipe after this photo.

Tortini salati con funghi ed erbe

For 4 tartlets:

1 rectangular sheet of ready-made puff pastry 
or 4 square single-portion sheets
8 gr. dried porcini
 mushrooms
100 gr. fresh shiitake
1 medium-sized onion
2 garlic cloves
20 gr. butter + a little extra for greasing
3-4 tablespoons e.v. olive oil
4 medium-sized eggs
1/2 dl. water
3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, grated
fresh herbs (your choice)

Preheat the oven at 180°C.

Soak the dried porcini in hot water until soft. Keep the water for cooking with it.

Peel and chop onion and garlic cloves. Gently fry them in butter and a splash of olive oil until golden.

Add the sliced shiitake and the chopped porcini plus some of their soaking water. Leave to gently cook until the shiitake are tender and most of the cooking moisture has evaporated.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Whisk the eggs with the grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 dl. of water, the finely chopped herbs plus some salt and pepper.
Incorporate the mushrooms to the egg mixture.

Cut the puff pastry in 4 rounds that are about 1 cm. wider than the diameter of the baking tins. Grease the tins with a bit of melted butter or some olive oil and line them with the puff pastry rounds.

Prick the puff pastry several times with a fork and fill the tartlets with the mushroom and egg mixture.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling has set.