Mushroom, Eggplant, Ricotta and Thyme Tarts

Success!

I would like to take this opportunity to extend an apology to those who politely forced down my partly cooked tart offering last night. I am terribly sorry.

I was so embarrassed by the tart disaster that I went shopping this morning for more flour and eggs. I needed to try again. I felt the ingredient combination had promise, and I was going to try again. If this attempt failed, I may have never baked anything again, so a lot was riding on these little tarts.

Caramelised onion, fried mushrooms and roasted eggplant slices, flavoured with thyme, garlic, and smoked sea salt (Maldon, but more on that later) and mixed with ricotta and egg, crisp, short buttery pasty – really what could be better (and also, what could be worse when things go wrong).

Luckily, this attempt succeeded! These individual tarts were crisp, delicious and easy!

Mushroom, Eggplant, Ricotta and Thyme Tarts
Pastry:
90g unsalted butter, cubed and cold.
140g plain flour
pinch salt
1/8 C water.

Filling:
2 eggs,
100g fresh ricotta
1 onion
1 small purple eggplant
8 medium sized button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
2T balsamic vinegar
chilli
fresh thyme
smoked (or regular) sea salt and pepper.
Pastry: Sift flour and salt, rub in butter with fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Lightly mix in water to a firm dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest in refrigerator for 30 mins. When rested, divide in quarters and roll out. Bring edges up to form a rim around the outside. These should look like miniature freestanding tart tins. Place on trays and freeze for about 10 minutes.

Filling: Slice onions and cook in 2T olive oil until soft and caramelised. Add sliced garlic, eggplant, chilli, vinegar and seasoning and a little water to loosen and cook until eggplant is almost soft. Add sliced mushrooms and thyme, and cook. You may need some more water, to ensure nothing sticks. Continue to cook until all vegetables and soft and the mixture is dry. Remove from heat.
In a separate bowl mix the eggs and ricotta together with some seasoning until smooth.

To fill the tarts: place a tablespoon or two of the egg and ricotta mixture in the bottom of each case, top with vegetables.
Place in hot oven (at least 200C) and bake until the pastry is crisp and the egg set – about 15 mins. The tart walls will fall, but the egg shouldn’t leak.
Serve with rocket dressed with lemon and olive oil.
Eat hot or warm.