Savory

Tomato Goat Cheese Tarts in an Herb Parmesan Crust

Last night I made these tarts. Today I went paddle-boating in a skirt.

It’s been a good weekend so far.

Have you seen baby heirloom tomatoes at Trader Joe’s? They are just so pretty, and the green ones are neon. They would be the most popular tomatoes dancing under a black light at a club.

If I stumble across a recipe that has tomatoes, basil and goat cheese involved, chances are I’ll e-mail it to myself, print it and buy the ingredients that day. It’s just the truth.

And don’t you think that you’d like to have one of these instead of a sandwich sometime? Make these so you can have a fancy and pretty tart all up in your lunchbox. And since it makes 4, you can share them so other people can get in on the goodness … because let me tell you, these guys are goo-ood.

Tomato Goat Cheese Tarts in an Herb Parmesan Crust
{makes one 9-10″ tart or four 4″ tarts} Recipe from Confessions of a Tart

Ingredients:

herb parmesan crust –

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, chilled or frozen
  • 2 T grated parmesan
  • 1 T dried Italian herbs (I only had dried oregano. Oops.)
  • 2-4 T ice water

filling –

  • 4 oz. goat cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 – 1 lb assorted tomatoes*
  • 1 T chopped fresh basil
  • salt + pepper

* I used Trader Joe’s mini heirlooms and only needed about 1/2 pound. Maybe if you make a big tart you’ll need the full pound.

Directions:

  1. Make crust. Whisk flours, salt, parmesan and herbs together in a large bowl. Cut butter into small squares and scatter on top of the dry ingredients. With a pastry blender, forks or your hands, quickly cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the biggest pieces are no larger than a small pea. Drizzle in water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together when pinched. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
  2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and press together into a ball. (At this point, you can wrap it in plastic and refrigerate it for an hour if you want to be able to roll it out. Or don’t bother and simply press into the tart pan or pans.) If making mini tartlets, divide the dough into four pieces. If not, keep it in one piece. Spray or butter the tart pans and, working quickly so that the pieces of butter don’t melt, press the crumbly dough into the pans. Refrigerate.
  3. Heat the oven to 375°. Press greased aluminum foil into the tart pans and fill with beans/rice/baking weights. Pierce the bottom of each crust serveral times with a fork through the foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the crusts are beginning to turn golden. Cool for 10 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, make filling. Combine goat cheese and milk in a small bowl and stir until incorporated. Slice the tomatoes and basil.
  5. Divide filling between the slightly cooled tart shells and top with tomatoes and basil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for an additional 30 minutes, then serve!

Crumby goodness.

3 thoughts on “Tomato Goat Cheese Tarts in an Herb Parmesan Crust”

  1. Oh Lora, you sure do! You could even make freeform ones without the tart pans. 🙂

    You sure would, mum. I’m glad about your peach pie! Top crust or crumble-top?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*