Tarts Two Ways

As promised, here are the recipes for the two tarts I made for the blogging party I just hosted. I love making tarts! They are super simple and always a crowd pleaser. Now for the best tart dough ever I use my very close friend Ashley's recipe. It's the best! If you are terrified of making pastry dough, just cheat and use ready made puff pastry. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone :)

My dear friend Adam Hendershott took these fabulous pictures :)

Tarts

Makes 2 tarts

Ashley's dough recipe:

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

6 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) butter

4 tbsp. vegetable shortening

a scant 1/2 cup iced water (a scant means just barely)

What you'll do:

Place flour, salt, sugar, butter, and shortening in a food processor. Pulse 5-6 times, then turn the processor on, pour in all the water, then process until it forms a ball. Add additional droplets of water as necessary. (can also be done by hand)

Place dough on a lightly floured bowl. With the heel of one hand, press the dough away from you, creating a smear across the board. Do this 4-5 times. Then gather the dough into a ball, flatten into a disc. Sprinkle with flour, wrap in wax paper, and chill: Freezer for 1 hour, or refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.

Roll out on floured board with rolling pin.

Mushroom Leek filling:

1 container of crimini mushrooms (or any mix that you like)

1 leek, trimmed and sliced

3 thyme sprigs

a pinch of salt

What you'll do:

Saute the ingredients in a frying pan with a little olive oil for just about a minute or until the mushrooms are barely softened. Roll the dough out on a floured surface and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Pour the whole mixture in the middle of the rolled out dough. Fold the sides up over the mushroom mix and bake for 30-40 minutes on 350 degrees or until golden.

Eggplant filling:

1/2 eggplant slice into thin circles

1 large tomato, sliced into thin circles

a handful of basil leaves

a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella cheese

What you'll do:

Roll the dough out on a floured surface and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Lay the basil leaves flat in the middle of the dough. Layer the eggplant and tomatoes on top of the leaves and then sprinkle with some mozzarella cheese. Fold the sides up over the eggplant and tomatoes and bake for 30-40 minutes on 350 degrees or until golden.

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