Light and fluffy ricotta is given a lift with the addition of goat’s cheese, lemon and herbs, nestled on a delicious flaky base and topped with salty prosciutto and sweet, plump oven roasted tomatoes. A perfect starter or light lunch, the majority of this delectable tart can be prepared ahead of time. That easy?? Why, yes it is…..sit back, relax and grab a glass of wine…..entree is served!
Prep time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes $ Low Budget
Serves 4
2 sheets of butter puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten
200gm of ricotta
40gm of goats cheese
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tbs of lemon juice
1 tbs of finely chopped dill
1 tbs of finely chopped parsley
4 slices of proscuitto, very thin is best
8 cherry truss tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Good quality balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
Sea salt and pepper
Dill sprigs for garnish
Pre heat the oven to 210°C.
Use a 10cm in diameter pastry cutter (or bowl and run your knife around it) and cut 2 rounds out of each sheet of pastry. Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the rounds on it. Wet the very outside of each circle with a little water, using your finger. Cut 1cm strips out of the left over pastry and run them around the outside of each pastry round to create a nice border. Stab the centre of each round with a fork a few times…..this will stop the centre of the tart puffing up too much. Brush each tart case with a little of the beaten egg and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden and puffed. The centre will puff up a bit but will shrink back when cooling.
Remove the tomatoes from the truss but keep the nice little green top on each tomato. Place them on a lined baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Bake them in the oven for 15 minutes or until the skins are just starting to burst.
In a small bowl combine the ricotta, crumbled goat’s cheese, herbs and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and mix well to combine.
To serve the tart, spoon the ricotta mixture evenly into the four tart cases and spread to the border. Drape a slice of prosciutto in the centre of each tart and top with 2 tomatoes each. Pop a sprig of dill on top, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a final sprinkle of sea salt and pepper. That’s it……ready to serve!
The pastry rounds and the ricotta can be made ahead of time. Cook the pastry and allow to cool completely before placing in an airtight container.