Cherry Tomato Tarts with Black Olives and Feta
Pastry
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 tablespoons cold sweet butter, cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons cold Crisco
Whiz together flour and salt in the work bowl of a food processor. Add butter and Crisco and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse oatmeal. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add enough ice water that when dough is gently worked with hands it just comes together. Shape dough into a flat disc and wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate one for two hours. When ready to use, let dough warm up slightly - rolling dough straight from fridge leads to cracking and irritable dough syndrome.
Filling
- 6 large eggs
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- several sprigs fresh thyme
- Sea salt and ground pepper
- 24 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup black oil-cured olives, pitted and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
Whisk together eggs, cream and thyme in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Heat oven to 375. Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll out pastry to about 1/8 inch thickness. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles large enough to fill cups in a standard muffin tin. Gently press pastry into cups - creating a slightly scalloped edge. Chill pastry-lined muffin tin for about 20 minutes. Divide tomatoes, olives and feta between cups. Fill cups with egg mixture to about 1/4 inch from the top. Bake until pastry is golden and filling is set, about 30 minutes. Serve hot or room temperature.