Ahh, summer parties. White tents, breezy dresses, a lemon drop or rose in a frosted glass. Tapas, simple to nibble on, just one or two perfect bites. What sings summer? Garden fresh tomatoes and basil.

Tomato & Basil Mini Tarts with Mozzarella and Pinenuts

Makes about 24 miniature tarts

Ingredients:

1 portion of prepared pie dough

4 ounces of mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

6 basil leaves, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons toasted pinenuts

Olive oil, salt & pepper

Instructions: Heat an oven to 350 degrees. Coat two mini muffin pans with olive oil or vegetable spray. Roll the prepared pie dough into a flat round, about 9-inches in diameter. Using a 2-3 inch round cookie cutter, cut the dough into 24 small disks, re-rolling the pie dough if necessary to cut more rounds. Place the dough rounds in each cup of the mini muffin pan. They don’t need to be perfect:

In each pastry cup place a few cubes of mozzarella and two or three cherry tomato halves. Mix together the basil, garlic and pinenuts with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, then put a portion of the mixture on each tomato tart.

Drizzle each tart with a bit more olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the pastry dough is browned and the tomatoes are soft and bubbly. Serve immediately, or at room temperature.