For Silas' one-month birthday, Cakes and I went for a picnic in Hawrelak Park. It was a gorgeous day, Silas was very well behaved and we got to lie around on a blanket in the sun reading magazines. Never mind that the kitchen was a disaster zone and the laundry needed doing - there are some things far more important than keeping the house spotless. Along with our cherries and peaches (bought at a roadside stand) and bottles of iced water we took along a few slices of the goats cheese and roasted vegetable tart I made the day before. What had been delicate and fluffy (if somewhat, um, falling-apartish) the day before, warm out of the oven, was now much more flavourful and stood up to being eaten by hand - a cold velvetty, cheesy custard laced with garlic and paired with yummy roasted asparagus, capsicum and onions. You could definitely use zuchinni (I would have if there'd been any at the shops when I went) or mushrooms as well (I forgot to buy them).
This tart looks nice, has plenty of veggies and milk in it and the pastry crust is thin so the damage in the butter department isn't too bad. You could probably cut the fat in the pastry down a bit more by substituting cream cheese for some of the butter, which I have been known to do from time to time, although I didn't here.
- 180 grams (6 oz.) flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 90 grams (3 oz.) butter
-
1 egg
- water
Preheat oven to 200C (400F) Process flour, salt, pepper and butter in a food processor. When it is mealy, blend in one egg and enough water (about 1-2 Tablespoons) to form a nice firm pastry dough. Roll dough out on a floured surface until it is no more than 2 millimetres thick. Use dough to line a 10-inch tart shell and prick the bottom of it with a fork. Set aside.
- 1 medium vidallia onion, quartered and roasted or grilled
- 3 large, thick-walled capsicum roasted or grilled, skin and seeds removed
- 1 pound asparagus roasted or grilled
- 300 grams chevre
- 60 grams semi-hard goats cheese, grated very finely
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 whole extra-large eggs
- 3 extra-large egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Drain and pat the vegetables dry. Slice the onions and capsicum into thin strips. Arrange the asparagus, capsicum and onions in the bottom of the prepared tart shell.
In a stand mixer, whip the chevre, goats cheese, eggs, yolks, salt and garlic until smooth. Add enough of the milk to make a pourable liquid about as thick as a syrup or pourable custard.
Pour cheese mixture over vegetables and thump tart shell several times on the countertop to ensure it gets between the vegetables and down to the bottom of the crust.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 180C (350F) and bake for 20 more minutes. Allow to stand for 15 minutes. You can eat this now, but the custard will be very delicate and will likely fall apart when eaten. It is better left until the next day in the fridge for the custard to firm up and the flavours to blend.
