Best Individual Oyster Tarts Recipes

OYSTER TARTLETS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter over moderately high heat.
• Stir in the flour, then whisk in the milk & cream cheese, until smooth.
• Bring to a simmer, whisking.
• Stir in the onion, garlic powder and bay leaf and simmer over low heat, whisking, until no floury taste remains, 10 minutes.
• Pass through a coarse strainer set over a small bowl; discard the bay leaf, and add lemon juice.
• Stir in the horseradish and season with salt and pepper.
• Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the sauce.
• In a small bowl, combine the panko and cheese and stir in the olive oil.
• Arrange the phyllo shells on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Place an oyster in each shell.
• Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the horseradish sauce into each shell, and sprinkle the panko mixture on top.
• Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 10 minutes, until hot throughout and crisp on top.
• Serve right away.

INDIVIDUAL APPLE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• On a floured surface, roll the pastry out a little thinner than 1/8-inch. Lay on a sheet pan and chill it, then cut out 4-inch disks. Cut decorative shapes from the scrap and bake them off to use later.
• Slice peeled, halved, and cored apples extremely thinly, preferably on a mandoline.
• In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar together.
• Lay pastry disks on a parchment lined sheet pan and place 1 cube of butter in the center on each puff pastry disk and a spoonful of cinnamon sugar. Start layering and stacking the apple slices in a concentric circle leaving very little edge showing to make a beehive shape (save the smaller slices for the top layers). It should get smaller as you go up higher.
• When finished, the stack of apple layers should be about 3 inches high. Place a cube of butter at the top and sprinkle the apple stack liberally with cinnamon sugar. You can freeze them at this point. Bake until golden brown and tender, about 30 minutes.

OYSTER FOCH

Steps:

• Heat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Alternatively, fill a large heavy pot almost halfway with oil and heat to 350 degrees F.
• Spread 1 tablespoon of pate on each piece of toast. In a shallow bowl, mix enough salt and pepper into the cornmeal to flavor it. Roll the oysters in cornmeal until well covered. Lightly shake off the excess.
• Carefully add breaded oysters to the hot oil and fry until crispy, about 30 to 40 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
• Put 6 fried oysters on top of each piece of toast, and then top the oysters with Colbert Sauce. Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the sherry wine until reduced by half. Add hollandaise, followed by tomato sauce and Worcestershire. Add enough caramel food coloring until it becomes a deep chocolate shade. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve over fried oysters.

INDIVIDUAL LEMON MERINGUE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the pastry: Roll the pastry to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 6 (6-inch) rounds. Place the pastry in 6 (4-inch) tart molds. With a knife trim the excess pastry. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Line each tart shell with a piece of parchment paper and fill to the rim with pie weights.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the pie weights and parchment from the tart shells and bake for 10 minutes.
• For the filling: Whisk together the lemon juice, eggs, yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract.
• Pour the lemon mixture into a medium pot. Place over medium heat and stir with a spatula for about 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Pour the lemon mixture onto a baking sheet and cool completely.
• Spoon the cooled lemon mixture or curd into the baked tart shells.
• For the meringue: Beat the egg whites with the vanilla extract and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Continue beating while adding the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. The finished meringue should have stiff glossy peaks. Mound the meringue on top of the tarts.
• Make sure there is a good seal between the meringue and the edge of the crust. Bake the tarts in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the meringue is golden. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from the molds.
• Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Using a cheese grater, grate the butter and shortening into the flour. Combine the mixture with your fingers until it resembles cornmeal. Add the ice cold water and mix with a spoon, pulling the water into the flour until a dough forms.
• With your hands, shape the dough into 2 balls and flatten them into disks. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 1 month.

QUICK'N'EASY SEAFOOD TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F; arrange tart shells on a baking sheet.
• Into each shell, place 2 tsp of your favourite seafood; this recipe will also work with chopped ham, chopped asparagus etc, so use your imagination!
• In a small bowl, whisk together the cream, egg and mustard; I like to also add the fresh dill because I like its taste, but leave it out or substitute if you don't want dill.
• Distribute cream mixture evenly among the tarts and then bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden and"custard" is set.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

FRIED OYSTERS WITH TARTAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare the oysters: Season flour with salt and pepper. Dredge each oyster in the flour, then dip in the beaten egg, then coat evenly in the panko.
• Set breaded oysters on a baking cooling rack, leaving a little room between the oysters so they can dry and set. Refrigerate until ready to fry and serve.
• Make the sauce: Finely mince garlic with a pinch of salt until sticky and pasty. Mince shallots, cornichons and capers as finely as possible. Add all to a small bowl. Stir in mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, caper brine and cornichon vinegar, and stir well. Add chopped parsley, stir well and season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Fry the oysters: Melt enough shortening in a deep medium skillet (we love cast iron) over medium for 1 1/2 inches of liquified fat once hot. Increase heat to medium-high. It's ready to fry in when a few crumbs of panko or the tip of a wooden chopstick sizzles actively in the fat.
• Add the oysters cold from the refrigerator, working in batches of 6 to 8 or as you have room. Fry, making sure to turn them to get both sides, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes, depending on size. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider, and let rest on a clean rack while you fry the rest. Season each batch with a little salt while still piping hot, as soon as you pull them from the fat. Serve with tartar sauce.