Berry nice: mini strawberry tarts

There has been a young guy selling strawberries on the local main street in the past couple of weeks, a pallet of rather healthy-looking berries laid out on the footpath in front of him as he greets passers-by. The strawberries are quite tasty, though the price is more than the nearby supermarket charges.

I had to know, is it really strawberry season, for the prices to be fairly low and the fruit so plentiful? So I looked up my culinary encyclopaedia (Stephanie Alexander’s Cook’s Companion). It says that strawberries are of the genus Fragaria, which is a member of the rose family. They are harvested in southern Australia during summer, and in Queensland (northern Australia) during winter. The peak season is September to January (spring to mid-summer here). And, get this, “some berries appearing in the Southern states during winter may not be worth eating”.

Forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes. However, the strawberries around at the moment all seem pretty good, and very reasonably priced. Good enough motive to dig in and enjoy the bounty. And do I have a recipe for you (or, rather, Donna Hay does).

Mini strawberry tarts

makes 6

Ingredients

30g butter

¼ cup caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 tblsp water

250g strawberries, hulled and halved

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Method

1. Place the butter, sugar, vanilla and water into a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, stirring while the sugar dissolves, then cook for another 2 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Lightly grease six holes of a 1/3-cup muffin tin. Place the strawberries in the holes, then spoon over the butter/sugar syrup.

3. Cut rounds of puff pastry to fit over the muffin holes, then put the pastry over the strawberries, pushing in the edges to cover the strawberries.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden. To serve, carefully use a spoon to remove the tarts from the tin (be careful, they’re hot!). Tarts are best eaten while still warm.

recipe adapted from donna hay (dec/jan 2012)

Lovely strawberries.

Place the strawbs into a muffin tray, then cover with caramel and puff pastry.

Gorgeous red tarts, coveted by the queen of hearts.

Check out the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop: Berry Nice to Meet You!