Tomato and Goats Cheese Tart with Pesto

Tomato and goat’s cheese tart makes me think of long, relaxed summer lunches at a wooden table under a tree or vines, with plenty of time and nowhere to be. A bowl of olives, some prosciutto, a glass of white wine…what bliss!

Fresh Mediterranean flavours make this tart a real winner, thanks to the tartness of the tomato which goes so well with creamy goat’s cheese and fresh, green pesto- all on a bed of flaky puff pastry. Really quick to make (about half an hour or so), this tart is perfect for whipping up for an impromptu picnic or lunch guests. You could make smaller individual tarts if you like- I’ve made round ones before and they came out really well! For this recipe, I’ve used a mix of exotic tomatoes to get a rainbow effect but any small tomato will work for this recipe, just be sure to slice them quite thinly (2-3mm) and you can’t go wrong.

Feel free to sprinkle some torn basil leaves over the top if you’re a serious fan of basil, or give it a light drizzle of good olive oil just before serving. A good grind of black pepper, some sea salt flakes and you’re on your way!

INGREDIENTS:

1 roll frozen puff pastry, thawed

400g small tomatoes (cherry, rosa, etc)

1 Tsp sugar

100g goat’s cheese

5 Tbsp basil pesto

Salt and pepper

Basil or parsley to garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C.

Roll your puff pastry out to a square or rectangle roughly 25 x 25cm.

Place on a non-stick baking sheet and prick the pastry all over with a fork.

Bake for 10- 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven.

Thinly slice the tomatoes and lay them on the pastry in slightly overlapping rows (or concentric circles) until the pastry is filled, leaving a 2cm border around the edge of the square.

Sprinkle with the sugar and season with salt and pepper.

Return to the oven for another 15 minutes, being careful to not let the pastry burn.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Evenly dot blobs of goat’s cheese over the square and drizzle with the pesto. Slice into squares or rectangles.

Garnish with basil or parsley.