Preheat oven to 190°C fanbake. Cut pastry into roughish rounds and line into 6 individual tartlet dishes, overlapping the pastry slightly if necessary. Prick pastry with a fork and chill for 10 minutes. Line with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 12-15 minutes, until pastry is golden around edges. Remove from oven, lift off paper and beans, then return tartlets to oven for 3-5 minutes until bottom pastry is dry. Remove from oven and increase oven heat to 210°C fanbake.
Sizzle bacon rashers in a dab of butter. Drain on paper towels.
Rinse fish, checking for bones and scales, pat dry with paper towels and cut into chunks. Divide amongst pastry bases, positioning pieces the most attractive side up, season with a little sea salt, grind over some pepper and scatter with crushed coriander. Add herb of choice. Top with tomatoes, cut side down, and rashers of bacon.
Return tartlets to oven for 7-10 minutes until fish is cooked, tomatoes are lightly coloured and pastry is browned. Before serving, drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Cook's tip
This is the kind of thing to whip up midweek with inexpensive fish. Don’t faff around too much with the pastry, just join up bits, or overlap where necessary. I like to line the dishes with a piece of baking paper to make it easy to remove the cooked pies.
Article from the May, 2012 issue of Taste magazine.
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