Sour cream and prosciutto tartlets

 

Makes 48 tartlets

Sesame-seed pastry

• 1 and one-third cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• ¼ cup sesame seeds
• 1½ teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese 
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Prepare Sesame-seed pastry

1. Place flour, butter, sesame seeds, Parmesan cheese and salt in medium-size bowl.
2. Blend mixture with pastry blender or 2 knives until coarse-crumbed ; add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing with fork until moist enough to hold together.
3. Shape into ball ; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 425F.
5. Roll pastry out with floured rolling pin on floured surface to one-eigth-inch thickness ; cut pastry into circles using 2-inch-round cookie cutter.
6. Press pastry circles into forty-eight ½-inch tartlet pans or mini-muffin pans.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned ; cool in pans and remove tartlet shells from pans.

Sour cream and prosciutto filling

• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons well-drained, finely chopped roasted red pepper
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
• Pinch of leaf oregano, crumbled
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 8 thin slices prosciutto
• Parsley sprigs for garnish

Prepare filling

1. Stir together sour cream, red pepper, anchovy paste, oregano and garlic in small bowl ; spoon mixture equally into shells.
2. Cut each prosciutto slice lengthwise into thirds, then crosswise in half.
3. Starting at narrow end of each piece, loosely roll up strip, jelly-roll fashion ; top each tart with prosciutto roll.
4. Garnish with parsley.

BON APPÉTIT