Baby Bella Mushroom Tart Recipe

Making savory tarts doesn't require a specific recipe. The basic dish consists of a puff pastry shell filled with your favorite mixture and topped with vegetables. I had Baby Bella mushrooms on hand, so I made a version using them along with an artichoke pesto.

The pesto is a combination of artichoke hearts, lemon, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil. To soften the pesto, I added mascarpone cheese. I topped the tart with the Baby Bella mushrooms and roasted red bell peppers. Cheddar cheese was the finishing touch so the filling formed one piece.

Portobello Mushroom Blue Cheese Tart Recipe

Most of the time, I have puff pastry in the freezer. That means that when I’m in a pinch, as I was today, I can always whip up a light meal with a few vegetables and make a savory tart. This time around I made a caramelized onion and fennel filling, topped with sliced grilled Portobello mushrooms and blue cheese. I paired the individual tarts with mixed greens and a simple vinaigrette.

Sunny days are back, so I tend to prepare easy, lighter meals like this one and a lot of cooling drinks to fight off the heat. Who wants to be stuck in a hot kitchen when the weather is this nice? 

Potato Timbale (Potato Cup Recipe)

Timbale means "drum" in French. Potato timbale is just a fancy name for a potato dish baked in a drum-shaped round mold. What I like about this dish is that it's very convenient when we host dinner parties because the servings are individual. Plus it makes a nice, appealing presentation.

Potatoes are par-boiled, sliced and placed in the shape of a round mold. Then, it's filled with whatever you like. I packed the potato cups with braised fennel, water chestnuts and blue cheese. This is what I call true comfort food if you want to serve a feast ("un repas de fête" in French) for Christmas.

Ricotta Pasta with Fennel

Ricotta pasta is ideal for cold winter days when you're in need of good comfort food. Ricotta is very mild, so I boosted the flavor with parmesan cheese and braised fennel. For extra protein, I added white beans and pine nuts. You can use any shaped pasta, but I happened to have some trottole pasta in the pantry so I went with that. I find the shape so cute; they are corkscrew curled rings with a center stalk. 

I usually make this dish with mascarpone, but after all the decadent holiday treats we've been eating, I was in the mood for something light. Even though the pasta isn't bathed in cream, it's not lacking in flavor.

Saffron Orzo with Fennel and Vegetarian Chorizo

Orzo has a similar shape to rice, but it's actually pasta . I've found that kids love orzo; it's more tender and more pleasing to the palate of little ones.

We were running out of long grain rice in the house, so I decided to use orzo pasta as a substitute for rice in my Spanish rice dish. To bring another layer of flavor, I added some fennel that I cook in apple juice. Enjoy!