Easy Savoury Tarts

In the image shown above, tarts with chevré, sautéed button and shitake mushrooms, caramelized shallots with dried Okanagan Cherry reduction.

1. Caramelized shallots
Shallots
port or wine
rosemary
drizzle olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Take the skins and ends off of the shallots and place them in a shallow baking dish. Add remaining ingredients and bake at 350ºF oven for up to one hour or until the shallots are soft. Enjoy in a number of options or as a garnish to meats and vegetables.

2. Dried Okanagan Cherry reduction
1 cup tart dried Okanagan cherries *
1 cup port
1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbs butter
1 cup dry red wine or port
Soak cherries in port over night or for several hours.
In a sauce pan, heat soaked cherries and add wine or port and rosemary. Bring to a boil and add butter. Remove from heat and purée. Use on tarts or as a drizzle for meats or poultry.

3. Sautéed Mushrooms
1 cup button mushrooms
1/2 cup fresh Shitake Mushrooms
Gently remove the stems from the shitake mushrooms and slice all of the mushrooms. Sauté mushrooms in a small amount of good olive oil or butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Near the end of cooking the mushrooms when they are soft thoughout, deglaze pan with a healthy splash of dry vermouth.

4. Tarts
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Assemble tarts by spooning a small amount of chevré into each shell. Add sautéed mushrooms and place caramelized shallots into each tart. Top with a teaspoon of cherry reduction. Bake for about 15 minutes or until pastry is browned. Enjoy hot, warm or cold. Can be prepared in advance.

Enjoy!

*Dried Okanagan Cherries are available in Winnipeg at DeLuca's Specialty Foods - Cooking School & Restaurant at 950 Portage Ave. (204)774-7617. For West Coast American relatives, Dried Washington Cherries are likely quite wonderful.