Tapenade Tartlets

If you like tapenade, this recipe is very tasty and is great for vegetarians and vegans too. I made it for guests last night and my harshest critic (my son) enjoyed several, so I can definitely say it went down well. Using good shop bought tapenade and ready rolled puff pastry makes it a very easy canapé. The tapenade was homemade, the recipe is below, but the puff pastry is Jus-Roll. Making it would have been a step too far. Any left over tapenade (and there will be plenty) keeps well and makes a great dip.

Ingredients

1 pack Jus-Roll puff pastry

1 jar good quality tapenade (Olive Branch Kalamata Tapenade is a vegan variety) or home made

Flat leaf parsley

Fresh fig or red pepper

Tapenade ingredients:

200g Kalamata olives

3 tbsp capers, rinsed

2-3 anchovies (3 if you like a real hit of saltiness, but omit for vegan)

1 tbsp chopped parsley

0.5 clove garlic, chopped

4 tbsp olive oil

Method

For the tapenade: put all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz together until it is well blended, but still has some texture. Add the olive oil, one tablespoon at a time. Add more or less, depending on the consistency you want.

Cover and store in the fridge. It keeps well for about 2 weeks.

For the tartlets: take the puff pastry out of the fridge for 10 minutes before using. Carefully unroll it and cut circles (I use the smallest cutter, 3 cms across, from the Kitchencraft set of cutters available from kitchen shops or Amazon). Prick the pastry circles with a fork.

https://www.canapease.com/tipsChill the circles while the oven heats to 190°. Then cook them on a parchment-lined baking sheet with a piece of baking parchment on top, followed by another heavy baking sheet. This stops the puff pastry rising and you end up with deliciously light pastry bases for the canapé. After 7 or 8 minutes, turn them over and cook uncovered for another 2 minutes. Keep an eye on them, they burn quite quickly. The bases will keep well in an airtight container, especially if you add a silica gel sachet. See tips page: "Keep them fresh"

To prepare ahead:

Choose large parsley leaves and arrange them in pairs, one on top of the other. This helps prevent the tapenade seeping through to the pastry. This step can be ignored if you plan on eating the canapés within the hour.

Put a small spoonful of tapenade on top of each parsley leaf pair. Decorate with either a tiny slice of fig or some chopped red pepper. Both work well.

Store flat and covered in the fridge until required. They keep well like this for several hours.

When required, put the tapenade and parsley carefully on top of the pastry discs and serve or they will keep 2 or 3 hours in a cool place.