Caprese Tartlets Recipe Courtesy Melissa Darabian

RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan or Dutch oven. Cook the vegetables one at a time (separately) for 5 to 7 minutes, adding a little more oil as needed and seasoning with salt, in the following order: eggplant, zucchini, pepper, onion, and tomatoes. Combine all of the cooked vegetables together in the pan, add the garlic, thyme, and basil and let simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add a splash of red wine vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and then turn off the heat. Serve hot, warm, or cold.

CAPRESE TART

Steps:

• Special equipment: 12 individual tartlet pans with removable bottoms
• Preheat oven on to 375 degrees F.
• To assemble tartlets: Take the tart pans and brush with butter and liberally sprinkle with cornmeal. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into 12 individual tarts. Dough circles should be larger than the pan to fit properly.
• Lay the dough rounds in the pans and press down to fill in the corners. Trim excess dough.
• Brush bottoms of dough shell with olive oil and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 6 minutes until bottom is cooked but blonde.
• Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt. Layer the tomato slices and mozzarella slices into the pan, overlapping the pieces in a circle, until all the ingredients are used. Season with salt and pepper. Bake tarts for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Right before serving, garnish top with torn basil. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CAPRESE TARTLETS ( RECIPE COURTESY MELISSA D'ARABIAN)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the crusts from the bread and using a large spoon or rolling pin, gently press the slices of bread down flat until they are thin and almost doughy. Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Press the slices in the muffin tin, to form tartlet shells. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, using a fork to combine, mix together the cream cheese, garlic powder, dried basil, salt, and pepper until smooth and creamy. Drop about a teaspoon of the cream cheese into the bottom of each muffin tin. Bake the tartlets until golden and crusty, 12 to 13 minutes.
• Meanwhile, liberally salt the tomato slices. Once the tartlet shells are golden, remove them from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Place a slice of mozzarella on top of the cream cheese, then layer on a tomato slice or two. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, if using. Garnish with basil chiffonade.

CAPRESE PUFF PASTRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine cherry tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl; toss until well combined. Spread cherry tomatoes evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
• Roast in the preheated oven until skins start to wrinkle and insides are soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool.
• Line another baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll puff pastry sheet on top. Make shallow cuts 1 inch from the edges to create a border, being careful not to cut all the way through. Prick the inner rectangle all over with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until puffed up slightly, about 10 minutes.
• Spread pesto over the center. Cover with 1/2 of the tomatoes. Scatter mozzarella cheese on top. Distribute remaining tomatoes over the cheese.
• Bake until pastry is golden and cheese is melted, 5 to 10 minutes more.

CAPRESE TART

Steps:

• Place pie shell in pie plate.
• Cover shell with a layer of cheese,basil, and pepper.
• Layer with tomato slices & more pepper.
• Repeat. End with layer of tomatoes & pepper.
• Pour olive oil over the top.
• Bake 45 minutes or until cheese is melted & tomatoes begin to shrivel.