Pizza Tartlet

The idea of making hors d'oeuvre struck me suddenly as I watched Ina Garten prepare appetizers for her guests in Barefoot Contessa. And hey, what's easier than making a "pizza"? When we were young and pizzas were a real real treat, even rarer than McDonald's. Rest of the time, we can only buy "pizza bread" from the local bakeries. I remember Mummy making these "pizza breads" outta white bread and sausages, packing them for my lunch box when I was in primary school. And during my secondary education, my class made "pizza breads" for the charity food and fun fair, it was a total blast! We topped in earnings if I'm not wrong. Hahaha.. correct me please, old friends. Those were good times......

Ready-made, frozen puff pastry are quite common in supermarkets. Just search about the frozen pies section and they're usually there (not all the supermarkets have them though) else the baking supplies specialists usually carries them. I was about town area last week, and was pleasantly surprised to see them on sale for S2.50/packet! So I'm gonna use them as the base for these pizza tartlets. You can also use them for Curry Puffs.

Pizza Tartlet (makes at least 15)
     1     box of ready-made Puff Pastry (about 500g)
150g    Marinara sauce (aka pasta/spaghetti/tomato sauce), homemade or store bought
  80g    Ham ends (may substitute with other hams or toppings as desired)
  50g    Mozzarella & Sharp Cheddar, shredded (or your favorite cheeses)
     1     Egg, beaten

I think ham ends does the job really well. Although they are bits and pieces from all kind of hams but they are cheap (like SGD2?), already cut into bite-sizes and the flavours they produce together is awesome, as with all things that's mixed up (e.g. Rojak and our culture.. lol), I can't quite explain. Your guests will never know they are ham ends anyway. The only thing they'll know is that they taste fantastic! (You may prepare this with the Creamy Mushroom Chicken & Caramelized Onions Tartlets too. =D)

Ok! Before getting down to business, defrost your puff pastry according to the instructions on the package, usually involves leaving them at room temperature for 1 - 2 hours, so remember to plan beforehand. =)

Preheat oven to 180º C
I experimented with 2 methods of doing this, you can decide which you'll prefer.

Method A

• Roll puff pastry out to a 0.5cm thickness on a slightly floured countertop. Using a fluted cookie cutter (about 7cm in diameter), cut out at least 20 fluted circles (should get >20 actually).

• Use a smaller round cookie cutter (about 5.5cm diameter) as guide; score a smaller circle on the fluted circle using a small knife. Maintain a light touch and be careful not to cut through the pastry.

Method B

• Roll puff pastry out to a 0.5cm thickness on a slightly floured countertop. Using a fluted cookie cutter (about 7cm diameter), cut out at least 15 fluted circles.

• Using a smaller round cookie cutter (about 5.5cm diameter), cut out 15 circles.

• Dab a little egg wash in the middle of each fluted circles. Place one smaller circle atop and press gently.

1. Egg wash the area outside the small circle. Spread a layer of Marinara sauce on the small circle, lay on some ham ends and top with some cheese.

2. Bake for 15-18 mins till puff and golden brown. Or if desired (and recommended), bake for 10 mins, remove from oven and top with more cheeeeeeeeese! Return to oven for 5-8mins more. 

The one with the smaller circle on top will taste "crispier" due to the additional layers but both methods are fine, both taste just as great. Aesthetically, the one with the small circle stacked on top (picture below) will rise higher, the one with the scored circle will look like the one straight at the top.

Now, regardless which method you used, you are going to end up with lots of trimmings. (-.-||) As with all puff pastry dough, it will lose its layers if you mix and knead them together but I don't want to throw them away and waste food. So I kneaded and rolled out the trimmings into a pizza dough!! Spread a thick layer of delicious Marinara sauce, put on a whole batch of ham ends and topped it with loads of cheeeeeese! 

Bake them at 200º C for about 15-20mins and you'll have a thin crust pizza! You'll never think about getting pizzas from "certain pizza or pasta chains" again, heck you might not even want to get pizzas outside again. What can beat a freshly made pizza, straight out of the oven?!

The beauty of these hors d'oeuvre is they are so easy to make and assemble. You may even prepare them way beforehand, keep them in the fridge and bake them fresh when your guests arrive. This uses the same puff pastry as Creamy Mushroom Chicken & Caramelized Onions Tartlets, you can prepare them together too! Hope that'll give you a great idea for your next party. Time to stock up on puff pastry again!

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