I am trying to increase the frequency of our meat free meals, for the reasons of budget and health. I know I have done well if Sir “it’s not a meal without meat” gets seconds. This tart was a hit!
As it’s Sunday, I took the time to make my own pastry. My favourite tart recipe is Maggie Beer’s sour cream pastry. I usually rub the butter into the flour with my fingers as I find it relaxing, but this time I used the whizzer and the pastry took no more than 10 minutes to make and put into the fridge to rest.
I picked up some fresh curd when I visited the Eveleigh markets last week. I used some with a quick meal of mixed mushroom penne, and the rest in this recipe. If you can’t find the fresh curd, you could substitute goat’s cheese, feta, or just use more parmesan.
Finally, it is really important that you blind bake your shell well. I didn’t cook mine quite enough so the base of the tart was a little soggy, so take the time to make sure it is well tanned.
Ingredients
- 1 quantity of pastry
- 4 roma tomatoes
- Thyme
- 4 eggs
- 50ml cream (or more)
- 50g parmesan (or more)
- 100g fresh curd (or goat’s cheese if you prefer)
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 180C.
2. Make your pastry, using your preferred receipe. Blind bake the shell for about 20 minutes, and then cook for a further 20 minutes or so until the base is nicely browned. I used a 10cmx30cm tart tin.
3. Slice your tomatoes lengthways and toss on a tray with olive oil, salt and pepper and thyme leaves. Place in your oven and roast for about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened and blackened slightly.
4. Line the tomatoes on your pastry shell, followed by the parmesan cheese. Beat the eggs and cream together and carefully pour over the top until the mix reaches the top of the shell. Add extra egg or cream if required.
5. Dot the fresh curd over the tart and bake for a further 30 minutes until set and browned.
I served this tart with simply dressed baby spinach leaves. It didn’t need anything else!
