Carabinero tartelette

First separate the heads from the tail of the carabinero’s and peel the tails. Also remove the intestines. The tails I later on use to make a tartare to fill the tartelette. Then crush or blend the carabinero heads into a fine paste, the finer the better. Now add a drizzle of oil to a hot pan and pan fry the carabinero on a high heat to color it. Once it starts to color add the salt and the tomato paste. Pan fry this for another 3 to 4 minutes. After that add the butter and the basil and turn down the heat. Let it simmer on the lowest heat for 30 minutes. Then remove the basil and transfer it into a blender. Blend it as smooth as possible. Once that’s done pass the butter through a fine sieve and let it drip as long as possible, so you don’t waste a single drop. Now cover a tray with a kitchen paper and place your carabinero solids on top. Spread it and then let it dry at 60 degrees Celsius for a couple of hours. Then transfer it into a blender and blend it into a fine powder. Keep the powder covered.

Transfer the flour into a bowl and add the carabinero butter, the sugar, the salt, the egg yolk and the carabinero powder. Then mix it and knead it into a nice dough. I do this in a bowl because the carabinero will color your worktop and it’s super hard to clean. Now let it rest for at least 2 hours before rolling it out on a floured surface. Cut it with a round cutter and press the dough discs on the tartelette mold. Then press the top half of the mold on the bottom half and cut the excess dough with the shaped cutter. Now put some pressure on the mold and bake it at 160 degrees Celsius for around 50 minutes. When the dough has completely dried out you can shave the top level with a microplane or a fine grater. Here I serve the tartelettes with a tartare cut from the carabinero tails that’s seasoned with salt, lime zest and olive oil. I added a little dot of salted citrus gel and once covered it’s decorated with salted herbs and marigold flower peddles.