Recipe Flash: Smoked Mozzarella Tartlettes

We’ve been playing around with a lot of tartlettes and pizzettes here at BGSK. The craze in our kitchen started back at our holiday dinner, when Phoebe topped mini circles of purchased pizza dough with caramelized onions, cheese, and arugula. Since, we’ve migrated to homemade pizza dough and to puff pastry. But despite these changes, we seem to have met our match in tartlettes. They’re easy but elegant, homey but aesthetically pleasing; they contain a little childhood nostalgia, but they’re easily made adult and gourmet with interesting, tasty toppings. We’ve started to incorporate tartlettes into more dinner party menus than we care to admit, and at last we’re sharing our obsession with you.

From our kitchen, albeit small, to yours,

Cara and Phoebe, THE QUARTER-LIFE COOKS

Smoked Mozzarella & Balsamic-Roasted Cipollini Onion Tartlettes
Makes 30 bites

Ingredients
2 sheets puff pastry
½ lb smoked mozzarella, coarsely grated
1/4 cup crushed tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
7 balsamic-roasted cipollini onions*, quartered
1/3 cup Parmesan

*To make the onions, halve this recipe. Caramelized sliced onions made stovetop will also work.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Using a 2-inch circular cutter, cut the puff pastry into rounds. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the rounds on it.

In a small bowl, combine the crushed tomato with the garlic and season with salt and red pepper.

Using a small teaspoon, place a dollop of sauce on each round, and use the back of the spoon to spread it over each tartlette. Cover each with a bit of the mozzarella, one of the onion slivers, and top it off with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the puff pastry has begun to brown, and the cheese is melted and becoming crusty. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes (the pastry will de-puff in that time). Then serve immediately.