1. Caramelised Balsamic & Red Onion Tarts with Goats´ Cheese

deliaonline.com

This has been a favourite tart recipe of mine for ages, as I have the book that contains it. I absolutely love balsamic vinegar, which transforms even the most basic ingredients like onions. The combination of the caramelised onions with goats´cheese is a wonderful contrast – try this tart out and you´ll love it as well.

2. Pepper & Tomato Tart

allrecipes.co.uk

Most vegetarian tart recipes contain cheese, which is fine if you like it or are not vegan. Even cheese-lovers may fancy a change sometimes, so I picked out this pepper and tomato tart. If you want to add some protein, try substituting ground nuts for part of the flour in the pastry, or serve with a salad containing beans, nuts or tofu.

3. Shallot, Mushroom & Smoked Sausage Tart

theframedtable.com

This looks incredibly impressive, and would work wonderfully as part of a dinner party menu. It would also be delicious as a summer lunch, served with a mixed leaf salad. For those who don´t eat meat, you could use veggie ´sausages´ instead, or mixed mushrooms, some of which have a very ´meaty´, thick texture.

4. Mediterranean Quiche

foodnetwork.com

There are some fabulous flavours in this tart. Who can resist fresh herbs? The lovely combination of vegetables is a classic Mediterranean style. It´s almost enough to make me want a garden, so that I can grow my own veggies – I imagine that the taste would be even better! Still, I can always grow some herbs on my terrace …

5. Carrot & Tarragon Tart

eatingwell.com

Don´t be deterred by the readers´comments on this recipe – carrots make a great tart recipe. My mum used to make a wonderful carrot quiche (sadly I don´t have the recipe, or I would share it with you). This one is broadly similar, the missing ingredient being white beans – try adding a can, blending them with the rest of the filling in a food mixer, and you´ll end up with a lovely filling quiche.

6. Smoked Haddock Tartlets

allrecipes.co.uk

Here´s one for fish fans now. Don´t be put off by the thought of handling filo pastry; it´s not as challenging as it seems, and looks impressive. Little tartlets like these haddock ones work particularly well with filo, as the layers look delightful. If you don´t like fish, mushrooms would work very well instead.

7. Chicken, Leeks & Gruyere Tart

deliciousmagazine.co.uk

I don´t eat chicken, can´t stand leeks and I´m not too sure about Gruyere, so I won´t be making this. But since I´m writing this for you, dear reader, and not myself, that doesn´t matter. This combination may be right up your street. You don´t even need that much chicken, so it could easily be made with the leftovers from a roast.

8. Potato & Onion Tartes Tatin

marthastewart.com

Tartes tatin – where the pastry is placed on top of the filling and inverted after cooking – are more commonly made as desserts. So it´s time for a savoury version! I love the combination of potato and onion, so this one will definitely suit my taste buds. A little bit of parmesan would go down nicely on top.

These tasty tart recipes are great for feeding a family, or for those who live alone, they´ll do for several meals. They´d also make excellent dishes when you have guests, especially as the preparation can usually be done ahead of time, and often the cooking as well. Do you prefer savoury or sweet tarts, and do you cheat a little by using ready-made pastry?

Top Photo Credit: pinterest.com