This simple summer tart of ripe tomatoes, fresh basil pesto and mild goat cheese baked in a puff pastry case, is absolutely delicious – and as the pastry in question is the ready made sort that you buy frozen, it’s incredibly easy to assemble.
I make my own pesto in large batches and freeze it in ice cube trays but any good quality store-bought pesto will suffice, making this recipe ideal for when you need to drum up something at short notice that’s colorful and bursting with flavor.
Make sure your tomatoes are ripe – always keep them at room temperature as they’ll never ripen in the fridge. If you aren’t a fan of goat cheese, try a sheep’s milk cheese or sliced mozzarella (preferably those balls made from buffalo milk that are packed in containers of water, not the pre-shredded rubbery stuff that you buy in packets).
You don’t have to scatter arugula (rocket) over the top but if you do, serve it right away before the leaves wilt as this tart is best served warm.
SUMMER TART of ROASTED TOMATOES, PESTO & GOAT CHEESE
(Serves 4 as a main course)
Ingredients:
8-9 oz (250g) of frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 tablespoons of best quality pesto, preferably home made
7 oz (200g) of soft goat cheese
3 – 5 ripe tomatoes (depending on size), thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves, stripped off the stalk
A good handful of baby arugula (rocket) leaves to finish
Extra-v olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Action:
Pre-heat the oven to 400F (200C). Roll out the pastry into a rectangle measuring about 9 x 12 inches (22 x 30cm) and place on a greased baking sheet. Lightly brush the edges with beaten egg and fold over approx 1/2 inch (12mm) all around, to create a lip.
Spread the pesto evenly over the base then add the cheese. Arrange the tomatoes on top, scatter the thyme leaves over, drizzle with a small amount of extra-v olive oil and season with a good grind of black pepper.
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is risen and golden. Scatter the arugula over the tart and serve immediately; perhaps with a green salad dressed with aged balsamic vinegar and some shaved parmigiano reggiano (real parmesan cheese from a chunk).
Sounds nice and easy and great for a summer luncheon.
Yumyumyumyum. This looks so perfect for a sunny lunch in the garden (if we ever get any sun over here). There will be some soft goat’s cheese chat on my blog tomorrow (if you can tear yourself away from all that European cheese ;))
Fab! I look forward to any post about goat cheese! Btw, last night we had 10 for dinner and I made pizza with Gorgonzola, caramelized red onion, figs and prosciutto…..not British but I bought it from Waitrose in Leamington Spa and it was superior to the stuff we have access to in the US. Oh, and I saw the sun yesterday afternoon….it was lovely and warm, sitting in the garden 🙂 If you like the sound of it,
the pizza recipe is blogged way back in the vegetarian category…I added the prosciutto just for the carnivores.
This was delicious – we served as an appetizer… I used basil leaves instead of pesto and sprinkled with salt and garlic powder to add body. Everyone enjoyed!
So happy to hear this and I love it when foodies change up a recipe to make it their own!!
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Love samphire…unable to buy in the US but will probably find some before I leave the UK’s steamy shores!
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Oh, this looks absolutely delectable!! I can’t get over the beautiful hue of those tomatoes – simply gorgeous!
Thank you!! And it’s so easy to make 😉
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