This tart is one of those dishes I don’t make nearly often enough. I always thoroughly enjoy it, its ingredients are fresh and flavourful and it’s surprisingly filling. It’s a wonderful combination of crunchy pastry, creamy goat’s cheese, crisp greens and herbs. For me though the standout ingredient is tarragon with its almost aniseed like flavour. It’s herb I don’t use often, but it gives this tart such a wonderful lift.
The creator of this tart is Wagga Wagga based commercial cookery teacher, Sara Morley. Sara shared it, many years ago, as part of a regular ‘foodie’ segment she had on ABC Riverina. I can remember tasting a sample on the day she spoke about the recipe, telling Sara how delicious it was. Sara kindly shared the recipe with me, so now I feel it’s time to share the recipe with you…
I’ve made a few minimal changes to Sara’s original recipe. Where I’ve used peas, Sara suggests you can use any other seasonal vegetable. I just love peas though, and I think they go wonderfully with this already ‘green’ tart. Sara also suggests tossing the vegetables in olive oil before sautéing in butter. I think the vegetables don’t need the oil, but each to their own.
What you’ll need
- One to two sheets of frozen short crust pastry (if you’ve got a knack with pastry feel free to make your own, but it’s definitely not my strong suit)
- Two bunches of asparagus, cut into even lengths
- 150g of small onions, peeled and cut into wedges (I used the small shallots you’re able to find in most major supermarkets)
- Half a cup of peas (I used frozen, but fresh would be an absolute treat)
- One tablespoon of butter
- 1/4 cup of crème fraîche
- 1/4 cup of cream
- One tablespoon of chopped parsley (I used fresh)
- One tablespoon of chopped tarragon (I used dried)
- One tablespoon of chopped chives (I used dried)
- Three eggs
- 120g of soft goat’s cheese, crumbled
How to do it
- Preheat oven to 200 °C. Grease a tart tin with oil and then line with pastry. Par bake for 15 minutes or until the tart shell is golden brown. I didn’t add weights to my tart, but I think I will next time. If you don’t have any pastry weights, some rice or lentils work just as well.
- Season the vegetables with salt and pepper, then sauté in a frypan over a medium heat until they’re just tender. Let them cool slightly before spreading them over the bottom of the tart crust.
- Reduce the oven to 170 °C. Whisk remaining ingredients, except the goat’s cheese, together in a bowl. Season well, stir in the cheese, then pour over the vegetables.
- Bake the tart until the edges of the crust are golden and the filling is set. Sara suggests 12 minutes… with my oven it was probably closer to 20 minutes to be honest.
You can serve this tart either warm, or at room temperature. It works by itself, or accompanied with a side salad (a balsamic dressing works beautifully). You could make one large tart, or I imagine these in miniature form would be great for a party or picnic. I’ve also eaten the leftovers of this tart for breakfast… so it really is quite adaptable! However you create it though, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Have a wonderful week.
M. x
Wattle and Ash 