Goat Cheese and Tomato Tarts

Monday, November 30, 2009

Goat Cheese and Tomato Tarts

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Today I wanted to post an appetizer. I’m a big fan of appetizers. They tend to be overlooked and under appreciated. My family sometimes just has an all appetizer night. There’s just something about finger foods that invoke a festive feeling.

I’m sure many of you have seen these tarts. I believe the Barefoot Bloggers group has made them. When I saw them in Joelen’s blog, it pushed me over the edge. I decided to make them when we had friends over for dinner.

While I was making these tarts, I was thinking, “Geesh Ina, what’s with all these ingredients” but I can say that the flavors in these tarts is worth the effort. Hubby agreed that these were amazing. You really can’t go wrong with goat cheese and tomatoes, so it’s really no surprise.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

Ingredients:

1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted
Good olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced thin
3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
4 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped - I used cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves

Directions:

Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11 by 11-inch square. Using a 3-inch wide round cookie cutter, cut 4 circles from the sheet of puff pastry, discarding the scraps. Repeat with the second pastry sheet to make 8 circles in all. Place the pastry circles on 1 large sheet pan lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to low heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are limp and there is almost no moisture remaining in the skillet. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the wine, and thyme and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from the heat.

Using a sharp paring knife, score a 1/4-inch-wide border around each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and place 1/8 of the onion mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Crumble 1/2 ounce of goat cheese on top of the onions. Sprinkle the diced tomato in the center of each tart along with the basil, salt, and pepper.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Serve hot or warm.

Recipe from Ina Garten as seen on What's Cookin, Chicago

Appetizers / Snacks, Side Dish

5 comments »

27 Responses to “Chocolate Goat Cheese Mousse Tart”

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Eva @ Eva Bakes — June 7, 2013 at 8:27 am
What an awesome way to feature goat cheese in a dessert! I never thought of turning it into a chocolate mousse – sounds like I need to try this soon. 🙂
- beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:51 am
  
  You definitely should. I know goat cheese isn’t for everyone, but we really enjoyed the subtle flavor in the mousse.
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2

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic — June 7, 2013 at 8:42 am
Jen, I love everything about this tart – from the chocolate crust to the mousse and the pretty strawberries on top. Yum! Enjoy your birthday month 🙂
- beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:52 am
  
  Thanks for humoring me on the whole birthday month thing 🙂
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3

Krystal R. — June 7, 2013 at 1:24 pm
Ohhh lalalalala, I totally dig this dessert even more because it has goat cheese and strawberries…some of my fave foods!! Happy Birthday month…you better party and eat like it’s your birthday!!
- beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 1:52 pm
  
  Oh I’m definitely going to party like it’s my birthday! All month long 🙂
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4

Shannon — June 10, 2013 at 10:24 am
oh yes to the goat cheese in this tart! fabulous. happy birthday month 🙂 you might need to make this a few more times to celebrate?!
- beantownbaker — June 10th, 2013 @ 12:09 pm
  
  Oh I have been baking plenty of deliciousness this month to celebrate 🙂 You know how hard it is to repeat recipes…
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Karen — June 10, 2013 at 11:50 pm
Love the idea of incorporating goat cheese in a dessert- I have never seen it down with chocolate before. I will definitely be trying this soon as I have some goat cheese in my fridge waiting to be used 🙂
- beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 7:20 am
  
  Oh yea, goat cheese and chocolate go really well together.
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6

Carolyn — June 11, 2013 at 8:26 am
Oh my, the use of goat cheese in this is phenomenal! I would love to try it!
- beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 8:46 am
  
  Definitely do! And you could top it with any fruit you like. I think raspberries would be good too.
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Consuelo @ Honey & Figs — June 11, 2013 at 9:39 am

Chocolate must work great with goat cheese since they’re both utterly delicious!! This recipe looks magnificent omg I think I would be able to eat the whole tart by myself *-*
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Justine @ Cooking and Beer — June 11, 2013 at 1:17 pm

Goat cheese is one of my favorite ingredients to use in desserts, and your tart looks soooo delicious! Thanks for sharing =) Definitely a must try this summer.
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Nutmeg Nanny — June 12, 2013 at 10:33 am

Oh wow this is gorgeous! I love this recipe, I bet it tastes heavenly!
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Beth — June 25, 2013 at 5:13 pm
I just finished making my second one for this week…we love it…it is so smooth and rich and well D E L I C I O U S!!!…my grandson requested the second one but truth be told I was gonna make it anyway…the bittersweet chocolate and the cocoa in the crust are what make it….if anyone out there hasn’t tried it do so you will be in love….
- beantownbaker — June 25th, 2013 @ 5:38 pm
  
  So glad you’ve enjoyed it! I definitely need to make this again. I have already made it with raspberries but want to try blackberries next.
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Beth — July 1, 2013 at 6:10 am
you wont believe it but I made this AGAIN yesterday…I did a play on bananas foster on the top…it was a hit with my company…and good recipes for sweets for the 4th?..lol….
- beantownbaker — July 3rd, 2013 @ 5:02 pm
  
  Wow – bananas foster on top. I would never have thought of that! I am making this tart and this strawberry shortcake for the 4th.
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Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com — July 15, 2013 at 11:48 am

So sinful and delicious looking 🙂
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13

NaturesComplete — July 17, 2013 at 1:27 pm

Holy yumminess. I never thought of putting goat cheese in. My mouth is watering at the thought. Strawberries are my absolute favorite berry of all time. I will have to for sure try this recipe, Got it saved to my personal file. thank you.
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Laura — August 3, 2013 at 12:07 am
I love chocolate mousse and I love goat cheese, so clearly I need to make this!

Also, there is strawberry picking (not sure it is organic though if that matters) up here near Oxford. I can get you the info for next year if driving up here is not a problem (I imagine it depends on what side of Cinci you live 🙂 ).
- beantownbaker — August 4th, 2013 @ 6:44 pm
  
  I definitely don’t mind driving for freshly picked strawberries!!
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Kelly Senyei | Just a Taste — September 20, 2013 at 6:17 am
I love absolutely EVERYTHING about this recipe! It’s hard to beat mixing tangy goat cheese with chocolate and berries. What a unique recipe!
- beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:11 pm
  
  It tastes as good as it sounds! I hope you try it.
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Lauren — June 1, 2015 at 5:49 pm

WOW! What a wonderful recipe! Definitely one of my new favorites! Happy birthday month!
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April — March 1, 2016 at 5:29 pm

Does this go in the fridge covered or uncovered and how long does it last? Thanks!