Mini tarts with pumpkin cream

Ingredients for 24 servings:

• 250 g flour
• 160 g butter, cold
• 1 egg(s)
• 1 pinch(s) of salt and sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• 300 g pumpkin flesh
• ½ onion(s)
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt, pepper
• 4 tbsp Parmesan, grated
• 16 leaves of sage, fresh
• 50 g Parma ham
• Oil for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

nice amuse gueule, can be prepared

Only half of the dough is needed for the recipe; freeze the other half. It’s best to use a special muffin-tin-like baking sheet with shallower cups to make the tartlets. Silicone ones are also available these days. A regular muffin tin will also work (the tartlets will just turn out harder), or just 12 individual tartlet cases. For the shortcrust pastry, quickly mix the ingredients up to the milk in a food processor, knead a little more by hand until smooth, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Finely dice the pumpkin flesh, finely chop the onion and garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter together, add the pumpkin, salt, and pepper. Cook briefly with the lid on, then remove the lid and cook until the pumpkin is soft. Stir well; it will burn easily. All of the liquid should have evaporated by the end. Remove the pan from the heat, let the pumpkin cool, and then puree it finely. Add the last tablespoon of olive oil, stir in the Parmesan cheese, and season to taste with salt and pepper. The purée should be very creamy; you can add a little more butter if you like. Roll out half of the dough thinly (freeze the other half), cut out circles to fit the holes, place them in the greased and floured holes (if necessary), and bake for 15 minutes at 170°C. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, then fill with the pumpkin cream (this is easy using a piping bag or a frozen food bag with the tip cut off). Quickly fry the sage leaves in hot oil and place a crispy sage leaf in each tartlet. Halve the Parma ham and roll it into small rolls, then place these in the pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle with more pepper if desired and serve as an amuse-gueule. Be careful not to overcook the sage while frying! The second half of the dough can be stored in the freezer for 6 months without any problem. You can also make small Quiche Lorraines or onion fritters in a similar way to the one described above. Spinach with shrimp also tastes excellent.