Simple Gluten Free Kitchen

Crispy Bread Tarts With Beans And Salsa

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Firstly, I want to give my Food buzz friends a big Thank You for voting Digestive Lemon Pickle into the top 9! Its pretty unbelievable but without your support it would never have reached to 8th place. If Suzi from cooking’s good have not congratulated me I would not even notice it.

 

We love having friends over and on most Saturdays either we have company at our house or we go to someone’s place. When I am planning a dinner, its always the appetizers that are hard to decide. Because I have to accommodate gluten eating, vegetarian and gluten free people in the same menu. These bread tarts with beans and salsa tick all the right boxes and I always receive ton of compliments from friends.

So last Saturday  we had a small gathering of good friends and these bread tarts were one of the appetizer I served. They are inspired from the traditional Mexican dish Sopes.  Sopes are small bowls made with masa harina flour or cornmeal and can be filled with anything from meat, beans, salsa and cheese or a combination of these. I usually make these for a big party but never got a chance to take a picture. In place of sopes I made these bread tarts that were very easy to make and good for a small get together.The filling of mixed beans, salsa and cheese was delicious! I made the tarts and the filling mixture in the morning and filled it shortly before the friends arrived.

I prefer to make ahead as much food as possible before the guests arrive so that I have more time to enjoy everyone’s company and spend less time running around during the dinner. These bread tarts can be made ahead of time (6-7 hours) and stored in air tight container. My sprouted bean and peanut salad, garlic and brown sugar cheese ball , sesame and tofu patties are some of the other appetizers that can be prepared ahead and are good for every diet.

Dinner parties are incomplete without beverages. And I usually serve juice or some kind of punch so that everyone can enjoy. In one of the party I served Ginger grapefruit spritzer and it was equally enjoyed by adults and kids. I thought kids would not like the slight bitter taste but they were tempted by the pretty pink color and loved it after first try.

No one of our friends are die hard coffee drinkers but our dinner always ends with a Pheti hui coffee (cappuccino style coffee). So I keep my pheti hui  coffee ready in the fridge. If you haven’t heard of it, click here to check. It is a really delicious, frothy coffee made without espresso Machine. Just half a tbsp of the beaten coffee in a cup of hot milk and a cappuccino style coffee is ready in minutes.

 

Good for 15-20 people

                                                                                  

 

 

 

CRISPY BREAD TARTS WITH BEANS AND SALSA
For these bread tarts Gf bread is a much better choice than wheat bread. They stay crispier for longer period. I made 28 tarts, out of which 10 were gluten free. You can not tell the difference but the top 10 tarts (in the above picture) are made from gluten free bread.

Ingredients for tarts:
10-12 Gluten free bread slices
melted butter
Ingredients for filling:
1 can mixed beans
3/4 cup salsa
1 green chili, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt as per taste
mixed grated cheese
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Remove the crust from bread slices.

Microwave one slice at a time for 7 seconds (to soften the GF bread)).

Roll out a little with rolling pin. Brush one side of bread with melted butter and press it in the cavities of muffin tray. The size of gf bread is smaller than a regular slice, so you need to patch up with extra bread to make an even tart.

 

 

Repeat this for every slice. Brush the inside of bread with melted butter and bake in hot oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Set aside the toasted bread tarts until ready to fill.

Drain and rinse canned mixed beans. Place them in a bowl. Add salsa, salt, chopped chilies, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and cilantro.

Put a spoonful of bean mixture in each toasted bread tartlets; sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake in oven until the cheese melts and serve them warm. They taste great even if they are served at room temperature.

You might also like:

Besan Dhokla/ Steamed Savory Gram flour Cake
Bombay Sandwich
Creamy Kala Chana Soup

Reader Interactions

Comments

  6. Hi;
    Sorry was caught up with what people call Life, and did not visit your space. Today I decided to do it anyhow and boy I am so glad I did. This is an amazing space. I do not need to eat gluten free diet, but I do need to cut down on my carb intake and get my weight in balance. I am surely trying recipes from your space. Hope we develop a bond beyond blog.
    Love Ash.

    Reply

  7. Hi Neetu, Looking at your post after long time, I don’t know what you are talking about this voting thing but congratulations!
    Yes I love beaten coffee, I don’t make it for guests. Its hard to beat for so many people. The bread snacks are really good and I just filled them with dry ingredients .Adding salsa would be delicious.

    Reply

  9. Glad to see you stepping over to makes some southwestern cuisine, you did an awesome job on this. Love the blend of flavors and nice to some appetizers that are not fried! Delicious post. Also, congrats on the top 9!

    Reply

  10. Congratulations on making it into the top 9–that’s fantastic and well-deserved. These little tarts look fabulous and would be a perfect party finger food.

    Reply

  18. Balvinder I love this appetizer. So many delicious ingredients all piled into one place for a tasty treat. I know what you mean about accomodating everyone. It’s hard sometimes but dinner guests definitely appreciate it. Nothing would be worse than to serve someone something their body couldn’t tolerate, then they’d have to leave the party early.

    Thanks for sharing this and your other recipes. Your beaten coffee sounds great and easy!

    Reply

  21. Hi Balvinder, I just saw this on Google+, but I left you a comment way the other day but I don’t see it and a hearty thank you for the shout out. I love these little snacks. Hope all is well and you are having a wonderful day.

    Reply

  22. Hi Suzi, I never checked my spam but after this comment, I was wondering what could have happened then I checked my spam and there your comment was sitting with some of others from previous recipes. You know we learn new things each day, from now on I will make sure to check my spam after few days.

    Reply

  27. Hi Balvinder, oh.. I miss this posting or we haven’t meet?
    Anyway your this bread tarts very pretty and good ideas for parties. And it sure look very appetizing and addictive. Love the filling, very nice combination.

    Have a lovely week ahead,regards.

    Reply

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