Goat Cheese Tart with Oven-dried Tomatoes and Olives
We were working on the website for Poseidon Cooks! with the marketing group (Greg & Don) and Peter & Lynne last month. We met on the boat and I made a couple of these delicious tarts for lunch. I forgot to take pictures so I made another one last weekend. Great excuse to have this again, it realy is good.
Start by oven-drying the tomatoes. This can be done the day before. Core and cut Roma tomatoes in half, crosswise. Place them, cut side up, on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with slivered garlic and chopped fresh thyme. Bake in a 300 degree oven for about 2 hours.
The crust is made from puff pastry. You can buy the pastry in the frozen section of the grocery, but it really is a fun thing to make yourself. Start by making a butter "brick" using 1 pound of butter and 1/2 cup flour. I use the food processor to mix it together. Wrap the butter in plastic wrap and put in the fridge. Mix together 3 cups of flour with 1 cup of water and form into a ball. Make a crisscoss cut on top of the dough and roll it out into a four-leafed clover shape. Place the butter brick on top of the dough and bring the edges of the dough back on top to enclose the butter tightly inside. Roll the dough into a thick rectangle and place back in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 3/8 inch thick. Fold the dough back on itself about two-thirds up the rectangle. Fold the single layer back onot the dough to make a three-layered package. This process is known as one "turn". Cover the dough and place back in the fridge for another 20 minutes. Repeat this process until you make six turns. The butter melts during cooking and develops steam which tries to escape, pushing the layers up into the "thousand-leaf" effect.
Roll out the pastry to a 13-inch square and transfer to a tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the pastry firmly onto the bottom and sides of the pan and trim off the overhang. Pierce the crust all over with a fork and chill for 30 minutes. Line the pastry with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until the edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the crust and lower the oven to 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, make the filling by mashing mozzarella cheese, goat cheese and fresh chopped thyme together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add eggs and cream and stir until the mixture is well blended. Pour the cheese filling into the crust. Arrange the oven-dried tomato halves in the filling, cut side up and place black olives in between the tomatoes. Sprinkle with a little Parmesean cheese and bake until the filling is puffed and set, about 35 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Remove the tart from the pan and serve warm.
I served the tart with an arugula salad. Perfect weekend lunch:
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