Parma ham, fig & Gorgonzola magic tarts

These are so named because they are such a breeze: no making pastry, no rolling out, no lining tins – nothing but the thinnest ready-rolled rounds of melt-in-the-mouth pastry, sitting quietly in the freezer waiting to be summoned for a quick starter or a light lunch.

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Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking

Method

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 200°C. Begin by greasing a small, solid baking tray quite generously.

Now arrange the pastry rounds on the tray, brush each one with some of the beaten egg and arrange the Parma ham all over, taking it right up to the edges and folding it here and there to make it fit.

Next, arrange 8 sections of fig in the centre of each one, divide the cheese in half and scatter small pieces over the figs.

Now bring the edges of the pastry up to make a kind of border, folding them over at the top and pinching the folds together – it’s all quite haphazard, so don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfectly neat.

Add some freshly milled pepper at this point, then finally brush the pastry all round the edge with beaten egg.

Pop them on to a high shelf in the oven and bake till puffy and golden-brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Serve warm with dressed salad leaves.