Roast Garlic, Tomato and Goat’s Cheese Tart
This Roast Garlic, Tomato and Goat’s Cheese Tart is amazing and the best way to show off your homegrown tomatoes. The sweet and smoky roast garlic is a perfect base for the sharp tomatoes and creamy goat’s cheese topping.
When it comes to tomatoes I’m a bit of a snob. I hate the tomatoes you get from the supermarket that have been forced grown with absolutely no taste. You cannot beat the flavour of a homegrown tomato.
The distinctive aroma takes me right back to my childhood, I have fond memories of my Nanna and Grandad growing tomatoes. When they looked after me I would live on cheese and tomatoes sandwiches and pinch all the ripe cherry tomatoes from the greenhouse. I remember they used to tend to the tomato plants like another grandchild, watering, feeding, pruning offshoots, and having neighbours look after them whilst they were away. I never understood this at the time but looking back this is where my interest in growing my own fruit and veg and my tomato snobbery must have started. Now I’m the one talking about my tomato plants as children and showing people pictures of how well they are doing!
If you decide to bake this magnificent tart but don’t grown your own tomatoes I beg you to use good quality cherry tomatoes, such as Piccolo. If you want to grow own but don’t have a greenhouse then you can buy a tumbling variety that grow in hanging baskets, my friends have had great success with theirs this summer.
You may think that there is far too much garlic in this, but you have to trust me when I say it is amazing. Something magical happens to garlic when it’s roasted, the sharp, insensitive tang transforms into a smooth, sweet, and smoky flavour. It tastes so good that you could eat it straight from the bulb or spread over toast.
Contents
Roast Garlic, Tomato and Goats Cheese Tart
2 Whole garlic bulbs
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Wholegrain mustard
350g Cherry tomato, halved
150g Pack soft goat’s cheese
1 tsp Thyme leaves, finely chopped
320g Ready rolled puff pastry sheet
1 Egg, beaten
Method
Step one: Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Chop the tops off the garlic bulb to slightly expose the cloves inside, sit them on a sheet of tinfoil and drizzle with one tbsp olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper then wrap into a parcel and roast for 40-50 minutes or until soft. When they are ready remove from the oven and leave to cool. The bulbs can be left in the fridge for up to a day if you wish to prepare this in advance.
Step two: Score a centimetre border around the edge as if you are creating a frame for your masterpiece, take care not to cut all the way through the pastry. Use a fork to prick the pastry all over except the border.
Step three: Turn the garlic upside down and squeeze the pulp out of both bulbs into a bowl. Add the mustard, honey, remaining oil and season before mashing into a paste.
Step four: Spread the delicious garlic mixture over the pastry sheet up to the border. Top with the tomato halves (facing up), crumble over the goat’s and sprinkle with the thyme.
Step five: Brush the edges with the egg and bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden. Allow to cool and scatter with basil leaves before serving.
This will serve four as a starter or lunch with some baby potatoes and a side salad. You can cut the pastry sheet into quarters and make individual tarts. This would also be a nice addition to a buffet.
Looking for lunch ideas? Try my Roasted Pepper and Feta Pasta Salad
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