Jump to recipeThese tarts are wonderful to make for an easy weeknight family dinner or also great for snacks. There are a few instructions and choices, but the recipe comes together really quickly once you get the hang of making the tart bases. The recipe is designed for 12 little tarts, but you can make more by making more filling, you want the tart bases to be filled to the top of the tin hole with a little pastry as a crust boarder. You can use gluten-free pastry for this recipe.
TIP You can use other veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, capsicum and broccoli, if you like. Just use your favourites and make these tarts your own. If you’d like to add some cooked chicken or prawn pieces just cut in bitesize, you’ll need approx. ¾ cup. If you are adding chicken or prawns, you can use a little less carrot and sweet potato or just save any extra delicious filling to have on toast for a wonderful snack.
If you are concerned with your muffin tin sticking you can line each hole with baking paper and have it come up above the tin holes, then you can easily remove the tarts.
NOTE You could also make the tarts in ramekins rather than muffin tins, if you prefer. Depending on the size of your ramekins you’ll probably make 6 – 8 with this recipe and you’ll need to cut the first pastry sheet into 6 pieces and cut 2 from the second sheet.
With the left-over pastry you could make a few free form cinnamon & maple syrup or jam filled treats. Just butter the inside of the pastry and add filling and then fold over and seal the edges before baking.
March 23, 2025
by adminaustralia
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter, coconut oil or olive oil
- ¾ – 1 cup (cut in small bitesize pieces) pumpkin and/or sweet potato
- 2 – 3 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, loosely packed (such as parsley and/or coriander)
- ¼ – ½ cup frozen or fresh peas
- ¼ cup flour or gluten-free flour
- 1¾ cups chicken broth and/or chicken bone broth (or lightly salted water)
- ¼ cup heavy cream or coconut cream
- 1 drop basil essential oil (to taste)
- 1 tsp sea salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- 2 sheets short pastry, semi-thawed
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 180C and prepare your muffin tin by generously rubbing with butter or coconut oil or you can line with baking paper. If your tin is non-stick then just rub with butter or coconut oil and set aside.
- 2. In a large sauté pan on medium-heat melt the butter and add in the veggies (except peas) and herbs and cook for approx. 5 – 10 minutes, stirring often until the vegetables are just cooked through, but not soggy.
- 3. Then sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir well to evenly coat them. Then pour in the veggie broth and coconut cream (or heavy cream) and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble and add in the peas. Continue cooking for approx. 2 – 3 minutes longer to thicken the sauce, while stirring so the mixture does not burn on the bottom of the pan. If the sauce is a little too thick stir in more liquid a little at a time until the sauce thins.
- 4. Remove from the heat and add in the basil oil, sea salt and pepper, stir and taste and add a little more salt, if desired. If you are adding cooked chicken or prawn pieces add them now. Then set aside the filling while you prepare the tart bases.
- 5. Place 1 sheet of short pastry on a piece of baking paper on your bench. The baking paper helps it to not stick to the bench. Then cut the pastry with a sharp knife into 9 squares approx. the same size. (you’ll need to cut 3 more pieces from the second sheet if you plan to make 12 tart bases.
- 6. Pick up one of the pastry pieces and stretch it a little to help make it rounder so that it’s easy to place in the muffin tin hole. You will need to pull the pastry up the sides so all the tin is covered and it makes a border just above the top of the hole. You can trim the boarder a little if needed. Then repeat the process until you have formed 12 tart bases.
- 7. Spoon the filling into each tart base just up to the top leaving a little room for the boarder. You may have a little filling left over and it will keep for up to 3 days refrigerated. If you have a little less filling than needed to fill the tarts add a few more peas to each and mix them in to make up the difference.
- 8. Bake for approx. 20 – 25 minutes or until the pastry crust around the top is cooked and golden. You may need to cover the top of the tin loosely with baking paper, if the pastry is browning too quickly.
- 9. Serve immediately with a salad. They will keep refrigerated for 2 – 3 days. You can also freeze the unbaked tarts, thaw for a few minutes and bake until cooked. Once they are frozen you can remove them from the muffin tin and store in an airtight container.
© 2025 COPYRIGHT (C) 2018 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - YOUNG LIVING