Green Pesto, Red Pepper, Green Olive & Goat's Cheese Tart

That's quite a mouthful to say - and it is also quite a mouthful to get on a fork!

Hubby and I dreamt up this tart when we were considering the menu for the week.  Hubby had a yen for a tart of some kind, but his suggestions for ingredients seemed to be headed down the Pizza Tart route, that we did only recently.  We were both agreed on the Goat's Cheese as being the thing we wanted to build the rest of the tart around, so the Chargrilled Peppers and Green Olives came fairly naturally afterwards.  However, the Green Pesto was a blindingly good idea of hubby's that worked perfectly.

These sorts of tarts really are quite ridiculously easy to do.  Couple them with a bit of salad and you've got the easiest and most satisfying supper that it's possible to have.

Quite simply, there are days when you're so happy to have something this easy on the menu.  Particularly at a busy time of year - as this is, being around Christmas - when you've been called hither and thither to attend to this purchase, or that appointment, or this convivial gathering, or that miserable soiree.  To know that following on from a small amount of slicing, a touch of opening jars and spreading, a wee bit of blotting followed by some gin & tonic while the whole assembly cooks will provide you with a delicious meal, is just perfect.

I must just highlight a point for anyone considering making this deliciousness - which is to remember to copiously prick the raw pastry prior to assembling your tart thereon.  If you don't perforate it, the pastry layers will puff up in distressing fashion, causing your carefully - and may I say, perhaps artfully - placed strips of pepper, pieces of olive and blobs of goat cheese to all tumble down the side of the pastry wave, leaving you with something more akin to a science experiment, than a delicious tart.  I know.  I forgot to wield my fork, my pastry remained prick-less - and the end result wasn't pretty.  Hey ho.

Contents of tart put right, in order to facilitate acceptable photograph!

The flavour of the end result was, however, superb.  I'd used a very mild, creamily cheesy green pesto, which didn't overwhelm the goat's cheese, but provided the great background flavour from which the other ingredients could all launch - and launch they did.  Served with a simple salad of green leaves, cucumber ribbons and marinated beetroot (marinated in raspberry vinegar & rosemary) that was dressed with more of the pesto, let down with a little olive oil and some white wine vinegar, it was a fabulous meal.

GREEN PESTO, RED PEPPER, GREEN OLIVE & GOAT'S CHEESE TART  (serves 2-4)

Ingredients :

1 piece of ready-rolled Puff Pastry, rectangular shaped
2-3 tbsp green pesto (I recommend a milder version)
2 large pieces of chargrilled red pepper (from a jar is fine), sliced finely
8-10 large Queen green olives, stoned and halved
120g soft creamy goat's cheese.

Method :

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 180degC/450deg F/Gas 4.

2.  Place the pastry onto a baking tray and flatten out.  Run a sharp knife lightly around the pastry piece, approx 1 inch in from the side, to detail where the tart crust will be.

3.  Prick the inside of the pastry crust - where the filling will be - copiously with a fork.

3.  Coat the inner of the pastry piece with a layer of green pesto.  Try not to make this layer too thick, or the pastry won't cook so easily - and make sure to not go over the line onto the pastry crust.

4.  Sprinkle with pepper slices and olive pieces, making sure they are evenly distributed.

5.  Dot the surface of the vegetables with blobs of the creamy goat's cheese, again, making sure it is evenly distributed.

6.  Season lightly with pepper and place into the oven to bake for some 25-30 minutes or until the pastry crust has risen and turned golden brown and the tart contents are showing browned tips.

7.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a moment or two prior to cutting.

Serve with a simple salad.