These Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts are a goat cheese lovers dream. Perfect for lunch or enjoy for dinner with a salad.
If you are a goat cheese lover, you will love these Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts. These tarts feature a generous slice of warm goat cheese in the middle, together with tomatoes, chives and some green beans, all in a lighter custard base, for a lighter, perfect-for-Summer bite.
And while the haricots vert (green beans) might seem a little random here, but they really worked, especially if not over-cooked so they keep a little of their fresh flavour.
I loved having these tarts in the fridge. They warmed up beautifully and were a lovely lunch. Add a salad for a great Summer dinner, too.
Cook’s Notes for Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts
You can cook the green beans in the microwave as well. Simply place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and cook on high for 30-45 seconds, or until tender-crisp.
These keep nicely in the fridge. To re-warm, place tarts (out of tins) on a baking sheet and pop in a 350F oven for a few minutes, or until just warmed.
If you’d like to enjoy these great flavours in one large easy tart, simply double the filling and custard amounts and add to a regular pie crust or tart tin.
These are the tart tins I used. I just recently picked these up from Amazon. They come in a package of 6, have removable bottoms and are the perfect size for mini tarts, either sweet or savoury.
Recipe adapted from Gourmet, July 2009
Goat Cheese and Tomato Tarts
Lovely mini tarts, baked in 4-inch tart forms with removable bottoms. Filled with goat cheese, cherry tomatoes and green beans. Lovely for lunch or with a salad for dinner.
Ingredients
For pastry dough (or start with store-bought pie pastry): *See Recipe Notes
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 tsp salt reduce if using salted butter
- 5 to 8 Tbsp ice water
For goat cheese and tomato filling:
- 8 haricots verts trimmed and cut into 3-4 inch lengths
- 9 grape or cherry tomatoes halved
- 6 rounds goat cheese about 1/2-inch thick
- 2 tsp finely chopped chives plus more for garnish
For custard:
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
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Make pastry dough: Blend together flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 5 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated. Squeeze a small handful of dough: If dough doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough. Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 2 portions. Flatten slightly, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
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Make tart shells: Arrange 6 tart tins (with removable bottoms) on a baking sheet. Roll out 1 portion of dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 16- by 10-inch rectangle. Cut into 6 rough squares. Gently fit each square into a ring (do not stretch dough). Trim excess dough flush with rim. Lightly prick each shell several times with a fork and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 375°F.
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Line shells with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans to weigh down. Bake until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil and bake shells until golden-brown all over, 5 to 8 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheets on racks, leaving in tins.
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Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
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Assemble tarts: Cook haricots verts in salted boiling water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and divide among 4 tart shells, with ends resting on edge slightly. Place a round of cheese in the centre.
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Whisk together custard ingredients. Fill shells with custard, leaving 1/2-inch of pastry exposed. Sprinkle chives over custard part, then add 3 tomato halves to each tart. Add a bit more custard if necessary, if they seem low.
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Bake tarts on baking sheets until custard is just set, about 20 minutes. Cool until warm, remove from tins and enjoy warm garnished with additional fresh chives. To make ahead, cool completely (in tins), cover and refrigerate (in tins). Re-warm by removing from tins and placing on a baking sheet in a 350F oven for a few minutes.
Recipe Notes
Notes: Pastry recipe will make enough pastry for 12 tarts. Since tart pans vary in size, I thought it was better to have too much, than too little. If you are only making the 6 tarts, you can refrigerate or freeze your extra dough for another batch later or some other pie or tart. Note that the filling/custard amounts are for 6 tarts. Double if you are making 12.
If you are starting with store-bought pastry, you will need enough for 2 crusts for 6 tarts.
Absolutely delicious! Made them for dinner tonight! Going to make them again this weekend because everyone wants them in their lunches next week. Thank you for another gorgeous recipe!
So glad to hear, Kristie! I ate these out of the fridge for lunch for a few days and it was such a treat to have them there to grab :) Thanks!
What perfect little tarts, tomatoes and goat cheese are delicious together!
Thanks Laura :)
These definitely are a cheese lover’s dream! I do really love goat cheese…well, all types of cheese to be honest! These not only look stunning, I bet they taste AMAZING! I could legit make a meal out of these alone :)
Thanks Dawn and yes, me, too :)
We have haricot verts and cherry tomatoes ready to harvest in our tiny garden – how fun to be able to use them in these gorgeous tarts! Love the fresh flavors and how pretty they look.
Thanks Milena :) They were addictive little tarts. Was sorry to see them gone!
These are the prettiest little tarts Jennifer. And so perfect for summer. I’d enjoy them for lunch or dinner with a side salad and a glass of wine!
Thanks Mary Ann and yes, a perfect Summer dinner :)
I love my little mini-tart pans and I love these tarts! All that wonderful cheese and I absolutely adore green beans. I would have never thought to add them in a tart but bet it’s a terrific addition. I would love these in my refrigerator as well!
Thanks Tricia and yes, I was sad when they were gone. So nice to have to warm up for lunch :)
What do you mean by “goat cheese rounds”? I’d like to make this weekend, but not exactly sure what you mean…?
Hi Shelley, it’s just the thick slices you take from the goat cheese log. They will be the “rounds”.
These tarts are just the cutest thing ever, Jennifer! Not to mention the flavors sound amazing! Summer fare at its finest! These would be such a hit at a party… you know, if I was willing to share. ;)
Thanks Cheyanne and yes, it’s hard to beat goat cheese in tarts, in my opinion :)