Heritage Tomato, Feta & Lemon Thyme Tart (v)
I love making this tart as it’s so beautiful and decadent. It’s bursting with flavour with the zingy cheese and lemon citrus from the thyme leaves. Honey adds an extra sweetness to the seasonal heritage Isle of White tomatoes that are now available. This is just a lovely balance of flavours with the crisp hazelnut and thyme shortcrust pastry. Isle of Wight tomatoes are full of sweetness and with their bright various colours, they give a hint of sunshine warmth to help lift the spirits, especially on a glum wet and rainy day.
Of course if you can’t find heritage tomatoes from the Isle of Wight locally, you can get a mixed pack of different coloured tomatoes from your greengrocer. Just make sure they are ripe as they will be sweeter and taste better in the tart.
I made this tart last summer for our dear friends Ghislain & Elsa’s post-wedding lunch. It was on one of the hottest days in August at our home in France. We sat in the garden, socially distanced, of course, with a beautiful lunch of fresh homemade salads and this delightful tart. We drank glasses of ice cold champagne to celebrate their wonderful wedding news.
It seems so far in the distance right now that gorgeous day, with all the rain we’ve been having. I’m hoping that making this tart again may help beckon the sunshine back into our lives. Here’s hoping for a better and warmer weekend.
Give this recipe a go. It’s simple and the pastry case can be made in advance. You’ll just love it!
Happy cooking — N x
Serves: 6-8 | Prep: 10m | Bake: 25m
Ingredients
Pastry Case
200g plain flour
50g blanched hazelnuts, blitzed to a ground powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
100g cold unsalted butter, cubed
3/4 tbsp ice-cold water
4 tbsp lemon thyme, leaves only
Equipment required: 23 cm loose spring bottomed fluted tart or quiche tin
Tart Filling
175g feta cheese
250g ricotta cheese
1/2 lemon, zest only
1 tbsp olive oil
600g IOW heritage tomatoes, large and small or a mixture of different coloured tomatoes (you’ll need to include 4/5 large ones)
1 tbsp runny honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 tsp sumac powder
Good grind of black pepper
1 tbsp lemon thyme leaves and flowers, for decoration (optional)
Method
You can make the pastry ahead of time if necessary and chill in the fridge until you are ready to use.
In a food processor or by hand mix the flour, ground hazelnuts and butter to a fine breadcrumb texture. Add the thyme leaves and salt, plus a tablespoon of ice water and combine.
Continue adding the water tablespoon by tablespoon until the pastry forms into a dough ball. You may not need to use all the 4 tbsp of water. Wrap and chill in the fridge until ready to use it chill for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven Fan 180C/Gas Mark 6.
Roll out the pastry to fit a loose bottomed 23cm tart/quiche tin, leaving a pastry overhang round the edge.
Line with a piece of crunched up greaseproof paper and baking beans.
Bake for 15 minutes, remove the paper and the beans and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden. Remove the pastry case from the oven and leave go cool.
Once cooked trim off any extra pastry around the edge to neaten.
Next whip the ricotta, feta cheese, olive oil, lemon zest, honey, thyme leaves, salt and pepper to a soft cream cheese consistency. Add a squeeze of lemon juice if the mixture is too think. Chill for 20 minutes.
When you are ready to serve the tart. Remove the pastry carefully from the tin, be gentle as the pastry is so light it will crumble. (That’s ok as it adds to the rustic homemade look.)
Thinly slice your tomatoes. Add the cream cheese to the pastry case, using a palette knife smooth out the cheese filling. Starting with the larger tomatoes layer out from the centre alternating the colours. Then add a layer of smaller tomatoes creating an overlapping fan shape around the tart.
Sprinkle over a pinch of salt, thyme leaf flowers, and the ground sumac.
Lovey served with jersey royals and chargrilled asparagus or a simple green salad.
Enjoy — N x
