tomato tart with poppy seed pastry recipe
One of the best summer tarts, with delicious extra nuttiness from the poppy seeds, sharpness from the tomatoes a good contrast to the creamy cheese.
For 6-8
For the pastry
- 140g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 50g poppy seeds, toasted
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 100g butter
- 1 - 1½ tablespoons milk
For the filling
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tins tomatoes (or 1kg fresh)
- ½ teaspoon caster sugar
- Dash of red wine vinegar
- 4 - 6 basil leaves
- 200g soft goat’s cheese
First make the pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, add the toasted poppy seeds and sugar, then rub in the butter by hand until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Alternatively, pulse in a food processor. Add the milk, just enough to bring the pastry together into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour or so.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and heat a baking sheet until searing hot.
Line a 28cm loose-bottomed tart tin with the pastry, leaving the excess draped over the sides in case it shrinks. Prick the bottom of the pastry case with a fork, line with greaseproof paper or foil and weigh this down with baking beans or rice.
Place on the baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and paper and bake the case for another 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and trim off the excess pastry. Keep the oven on and reheat the baking sheet.
While the tart case is cooking, sweat the onions in butter until soft. Add the tomatoes, sugar, vinegar and let the mixture bubble away until thick and reduced.
Crumble the cheese onto pastry case, scatter over basil leaves and cover with the tomato mixture.
Bake for 25 minutes at 200˚C.
Serve with a crispy green salad topped with petals.
This recipe featured in the Sarah Raven 2016 Calendar.
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