Blackberry-Lime Tartlets

Can we talk about the weather? I don't know what it's like where you are, but here in central Mississippi it's officially sweltering. I was just out watering the garden and between the heat and the clouds of hungry mosquitoes, I couldn't get inside fast enough.

In this heat, I don't really feel like doing a lot of cooking. Though fresh fruits and vegetables are plentiful, I'd rather eat them raw than have to spend much time cooking them over a hot store. So I've been making a lot of barely-cooked dishes that are as easy as they are refreshing. Like this one. It's a light dessert that looks and tastes elegant but is very easy to put together using store-bought phyllo (or fillo) shells and Wildwood soyogurt. (Though I could have made my own phyllo crusts, ready-made shells are a great time-saver.) The yogurt filling, flavored with fresh lime and thickened slightly with agar, goes well with just about any fruit; I just happened to find these big, juicy blackberries irresistible. They combine beautifully with the flakiness of the pastry and the sweet-tart creaminess of the filling.



Blackberry-Lime Tarlets
(printer-friendly version)

24 mini phyllo shells (in your grocer's freezer case)
1 cup plain soy yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon grated lime peel
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup light-colored organic sugar
2 teaspoons agar powder
6 ounces blackberries

Crisp the phyllo shells by baking them for 4 minutes in a 350F oven. (This keeps the filling from causing them to get soft.) Set aside to cool while you make the filling.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the soy yogurt with the lime juice and grated peel.

Put the apple juice and sugar into a small sauce pan and heat it, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Sprinkle the agar powder over the juice and continue to heat until the agar completely dissolves. Remove from the heat and pour into the yogurt mixture, stirring well.

Divide the yogurt equally among the phyllo shells. Refrigerate the shells until the filling has chilled and set, about an hour. Place blackberries on top and serve.

Makes 6 servings of 4 tartlets each. 4 tartlets contain 158 Calories (kcal); 5g Total Fat; (27% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 51mg Sodium; 3g Fiber. 3 Weight Watchers Flex Points. (Nutritional breakdown assumes Wildwood plain soyogurt.)



Definitely kid-friendly!