Easy Cooking - Goat's cheese

I get so many requests for low-fat, low-sugar, low-GI and gluten-free recipes that when I saw the idea of gluten-free crusts for tarts, I wanted to make it and share it with you. Sadly, I cannot remember where I saw this recipe, so I played around with quantities in my own kitchen and I think I found the perfect crust for tarts.

What makes these tarts so amazing is that you can prepare the crusts in advance, the filling a few hours in advance and when you are ready to serve the tarts, it's a matter of plating and serving.

I must say that the tarts I am most proud of are my La Colombe-inspired Beetroot Tarts. I loved making them because of the memories attached to them. Making tarts can be as easy or as difficult as you wish to make it, but if you are a first timer, try my Baking Tarts for Dummies, which by no means refers to your ability to bake, but read all about it and you will understand!

Tasty Tarts with goat's cheese, asparagus and peas
Ingredients
For the tart crust:
• 500ml ground macadamia nuts (or almonds)
• 45ml butter
• 1 egg
• ½ t salt
• ½ t dry mustard

For the filling:

• 200g Fairview Chevin Traditional
• 250ml Greek yoghurt
• 500g fresh asparagus or 250g asparagus and 250g frozen or fresh peas
• 5ml coarsely ground pepper
• 30ml chopped fresh basil
• 30ml chopped fresh mint
• 15ml chopped fresh parsley
• 15ml olive oil

Method

First, make the crust. Place all the ingredients for the crust in a food processor and mix well. Press the dough into a 23cm loose-bottomed tart pan and make holes in the pastry with a fork. Place in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C and bake the tart crust until lightly browned. Refrigerate.

Next, make the filling. Blanch 250g of asparagus until tender and plunge immediately into iced water to prevent them from losing colour. Cut the asparagus into small pieces and add along with all the other filling ingredients in a mixing bowl. Spoon the filling into the tart crust and refrigerate.

Drizzle the other 250g asparagus with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and cook on a griddle pan or in the oven until the asparagus is cooked with black char marks.

Serve the tart with roasted asparagus and fine herbs from the garden. If you are using peas, blanch the peas in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes and plunge into ice-cold water to prevent further cooking.

More goat's cheese recipes:

• Salad with crumbed goat's cheese, fig and beetroot
• Goat's cheese salad with raspberry vinaigrette

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