Individual Cheese and Tomato Tarts

Directions

1. Start by making the pastry: Place the butter, flour and salt into a food processor. Blitz until the ingredients begin to look like small breadcrumbs. Be carefully not to over mix or the pastry will be tough. Use a fork to mix together the egg and water. Add 1 tablespoon of the egg mix and quickly blitz again. Add enough of the egg mixture until the pastry starts to come together in one piece. Remove it from the processor and bring it together on a clean work surface.
2. Roll out the pastry to 2mm thickness. Line the tart shells with the pastry, making sure you press it firmly into the edges. Use a cutlery knife to cut the overhanging pastry off and neaten them up. Place in the fridge and chill until firm. Preheat the oven to 200ᵒC.
3. Place the tart shells in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t take on too much colour.
4. Meanwhile, mix together the egg, milk and grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Remove the tarts from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature of the oven to 150ᵒC.
6. Carefully fill the tarts half way with the filling. Place three quarters of the tomatoes into each tart. Fill the tarts up to the top with the remaining filling.
7. Carefully place the tarts in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until the filling has set and browned slightly on top. Don’t forget to check that the pastry is cooked underneath as well. (You can wait until they are cool enough to remove from the tart shells and then check. If the pasty looks a little grey, just place the tarts on the baking tray and back into the bottom of a 200ᵒC oven for a few minutes.)
8. Enjoy with a fresh salad on a warm afternoon, or warm by themselves if it’s cold outside!