FRESH STRAWBERRY TARTLETS

Crust:

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 egg white, slightly beaten

Strawberry Glaze:

1 pint (2 cups) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Dash salt

Filling:

2 pints (4 cups) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1 to 2 teaspoons kirsch (cherry brandy), optional

Fresh mint leaves or whipped cream, for garnish

For crust: In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar and butter. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until mixture is crumbly, 2 to 3 minutes (if you’ve got some hard-to-break lumps of butter, use a fork to finish them off).

Make a well in the center of flour mixture and pour in 2 beaten eggs. (Egg white will be used later). Blend with fork until incorporated thoroughly. Mixture will be very dry.

Press dough to 1/4-inch thickness on bottom and sides of tartlet pans. Chill for 30 minutes to prevent shrinkage.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush crust with beaten egg white and bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

For strawberry glaze: In a medium saucepan, mash berries slightly, then add sugar and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain mixture, reserving syrup. Return syrup to pan and whisk in cornstarch and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens and is clear, whisking constantly. (If glaze gets too thick, thin with a little water.) Remove from heat. Strain if desired and cool. Spread about 1 tablespoon of glaze on each tartlet shell.

For filling: If berries are small, use them whole; if large, slice them. Toss berries in kirsch, if desired. Distribute berries among tartlet shells. For sliced berries, overlap slices around the perimeter of the tart. Refrigerate and serve within a couple hours of assembling.

Remove from refrigerator about 10 minutes before serving. To serve, remove tart from tin. (Push up on the bottom of the tart. Slip the tart shell off the bottom of the tin, if possible, or leave it on when you serve it.) Garnish with fresh mint leaves or top each tart with dollop of whipped cream.

Variation: When serving a different entrée (one that doesn’t have cheese for the filling as this lamb dish does), the strawberry tartlets can have a layer of cream cheese filling under the berries. To do so, beat together 8 ounces softened cream cheese, 1/3 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup sugar until smooth. Spread evenly over baked crust before adding the glaze and berries.

Nutrition information per serving: 620 calories, 26 grams fat, 190 milligrams sodium, 91 g carbohydrates, 16 g saturated fat, 43 mg calcium, 8 g protein, 115 mg cholesterol, 3 g dietary fiber.

Serves 8.