Achiote Seared Chickpeas with Goat Cheese

I first discovered this dish years ago while dining with a vegetarian friend at Lambert's. I thought it revolutionary; most of the chickpeas I'd eaten in the past had been in hummus form or as part of a side dish, but had never really been the star of the show. I loved the spiciness...the heartiness...the tang of the goat cheese...the mellowing note of the wilted spinach...fantastic. Now I order this every time I visit Lambert's (it's on their appetizer menu).

So when the recipe appeared in Texas Monthly, I eagerly bookmarked it for future reference.

A few weeks ago, we had a little progressive dinner with a few of our neighbors. The festivities were to begin at our house, and I was in charge of appetizers. It seemed a perfect opportunity to break this out.

And so I did. I made a double batch for ten people, and several people had seconds (and thirds) and there was still plenty left over for me to eat this for lunch several times. I served them up with some lovely mini-tortillas courtesy of the super friendly folks at Jack Allen's Kitchen (thanks, guys!).

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Mushroom & Goat Cheese Tartlets

I had an unexplained craving for mushrooms this week, so had the idea that I would bring mushroom tartlets to a shindig we attended this weekend. I found an interesting recipe for some mini tarts made with crimini mushrooms and goat cheese on Tony Tahhan's blog, so I'd bookmarked the recipe and gathered together the ingredients.

As it turned out, the day got away from me and Tony's recipe turned out to be more involved than I really had time for, so I modified it a bit. I thought the final product turned out just fine, so I'm posting it here for my fellow shortcut-loving chefs.

Mushroom & Goat Cheese Tartlets

* 1 lb crimini mushrooms
* 2 tbsp butter
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 3 tsp fresh thyme
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/8 c red wine (I recommend drinking the rest of the bottle while you're making these)
* 1 box (2 sheets) Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry
* 6 oz goat cheese
* 4 oz mascarpone cheese
* zest & juice of 1 lemon
* chives, for garnish

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Thaw the puff pastry as instructed by the box (40 minutes) and roll it out a bit on a lightly floured surface. Cut circles out of the pastry and gently press the circles into mini muffin tins, forming a tart shape. I used a 2-3/4" biscuit cutter to cut mine, but the top side of a narrowish drinking glass would probably work just fine if you don't have a biscuit cutter. The shells tend to shrink while baking, so if the dough is a little larger than the holes in the muffin tins, that's not a bad thing.

Using a fork, poke holes all over the bottom and sides of the shells in the muffin tins so they retain their shape and don't puff up too much.

Bake the tart shells for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

While the tart shells are baking, de-stem the mushrooms, wash and dice them into small pieces. Sautée mushrooms with butter, olive oil, wine, thyme and garlic for a few minutes until browned. Lower heat and let simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Beat the ricotta, goat cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest together with a mixer until well-blended.

Scoop some mushrooms into each tart shell and top with the lemon-cheese mixture. Tony Tahhan piped his; I used a cookie press with the spritz attachment, which worked very well. Garnish with chopped chives and serve. Makes about 36 tarts.

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