Goat Cheese and Cherry Tart
Goat Cheese and Cherry Tart
Recipe by David Colombe, Executive Chef, Table 24
A sweet and savoury tart topped with a warm cherry sauce. The balanced flavour of the cherry and spices lend really well to the Happy Days Goat Cheese. Even though it is kind of "winter spice", this is really light and resembles a quiche. And don't let the winter spice deter you from making this in the summer with fresh picked Cherries.
Serves 8
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/2 C. All Purpose Flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
- 1/4 C. Sugar
- 3/4 C. Butter, cold and cubed
- 3 Tbsp. Water, cold
Cherry Topping:
- 4 C. Cherries, pitted (fresh or thawed frozen)
- 1/2 C. Sugar
- 5 sprigs fresh Thyme
- 1 tsp. Fennel Seed
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 tsp. Cornstarch
- 2Tbsp. Water
Happy Days Goat Cheese filling:
- 275g Happy Days Goat Cream Cheese
- 3/4 C. Heavy Cream
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp. Kosher Salt
- 1/8 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1 tsp. Dried Thyme
Directions
Put the flour, salt and sugar in the food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and cold water. Pulse until the mixture just comes together. Do not over-mix. Pour the ingredients in a bowl, and just bring them together with your hands and roll it into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hr.
While that is resting, put the cherries and sugar in a sauce pan. Put the thyme, fennel, and star Anise in a Sachet. At a medium heat, simmer the cherries and sugar, with the sachet in the mixture. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and water. Add this to the cherries and simmer for 5 more minutes. Cool this mixture.
In a food processor, add the Happy Days Goat Cheese, cream, eggs, salt, pepper and thyme. Blend this together well, then set aside.
Preheat oven to 350
Roll out your crust and line the bottom of a buttered tart shell. "Blind bake" the crust by adding dried lentils or dried beans in the bottom, to keep the crust from puffing up. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the beans, dock the crust with a fork and continue baking for another 10 minutes.
Add the Goat cheese mixture and bake for 20-30 minutes. It is done when the tart is firm when shaken and is slightly browned on the top.
Cool the tart for a few minutes, then pour the Cherry mixture over the top.
If the Cherries have become to stiff, you may need to warm it back up a bit and add a TBSP or 2 of water.
Cool the whole tart for 10-15 minutes at room temp, to serve still warm.
Chef Note:
I have plated this dish slightly different than my description... This is how I would present it in a restaurant scenario, just to make it look a bit fancier. Play around with the plating, to however you want to make it look. If you add all the cherries on top, while the tart is still warm, it will take on more of a look of a pie.
See the Table 24 menu at - http://www.table24.ca/
See more about Chef David Colombe at - www.colombescooking.com