Roasted Beetroot, Cashew Cheese and Hazelnut Tartlets

These festive beetroot tartlets are perfect for a party. They're easy to put together, look beautiful on the plate, and most importantly, are undeniably delicious! Our recipe makes 8 tartlets, the perfect size for a starter, but you can also make them slightly smaller and serve as canapés. Try varying the toppings for a colourful twist. And if you're short on time, here's a few shortcuts we can suggest:

Prep Advice

• Use ready roasted hazelnuts or to roast hazelnuts, place them in the oven for 8 minutes until the skins split. Allow to cool, then rub off the skins and roughly chop, ready for decoration.
• Use ready cooked beetroot or you can cook your own in two different ways. Rub a whole beetroot keeping the skin on with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt, wrapping in silver foil, roasting for 1 hour at 180CFan/200C/GasMark6 until soft. Alternatively boil the beetroots whole, with the skin on for 1 hour until soft. When the beetroots are cool, peel or rub off the skin. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days until ready to use. The pastry cases can be made days in advance, just keep in an airtight tin, crisp up in the oven for a few minutes if they go soft. The beetroot can be cooked a few days in advance and kept in the fridge until ready to use. For a super short-cut you can buy ready-made pastry tarts.

Roasted Beetroot Cashew Cheese Hazelnut Tartlets

Prep time: 40 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves 4 | Makes 8 tartlets

Ingredients

• 1 pack ready rolled puff pastry
• 1 tbsp olive oil for brushing
• 100g cashew cheese
• 3 tbsp chives finely sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 medium sized beetroot, cooked
• 30g hazelnuts, roasted

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180CFan/200C/GasMark 6.
2. Brush baking sheets with oil or line with baking parchment.
3. Place the puff pastry on a floured surface. Use a large knife, cut out 8 squares that are 8x8cm.
4. Use the smaller knife to score a 1cm margin to make an inner square, be careful that you do not cut all the way through the pastry.
5. Brush the outer square edge lightly with olive oil.
6. Place on the baking sheets and bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes until risen and golden.
7. Allow to cool down. When cool run the tip of the knife along the scored square mark and remove the top layers of the inner piece of pastry. Now the pastries are ready to fill.
8. Mix the cashew cheese with the chives, salt and pepper. Leave out a teaspoon of chives to sprinkle on top.
9. Divide the cream cheese between the 8 pastry cases.
10. Cut one beetroot into 8 small wedges and the other into 8 slices.
11. Place a beetroot wedge and a slice on top of each tart and sprinkle over the roasted hazelnuts and the saved chives for decoration.

Delicious food photography by Rob Wicks of Eat Pictures.

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