Goats Cheese, Leek and Herb Tart with Homemade Pastry

As we're now into the month of May, and the weather warms up, the city swells with the heat and the nights draw out, we begin to think about lighter meals in the day and evening. At the weekends, it's a great excuse to have food al fresco, or throw a garden party. Be it intimate or grand, you can still make it special with some nourishing home-cooked food.

My tart is the perfect dish for this occasion, and what's so versatile about it is it's not only great in the summer months, sat on the patio with a tossed fresh salad, baby new potatoes smothered in real butter, and a chilled Pinot Grigio - thinking ahead, this is also a fantastic dish to have on a chilly winter night, wrapped up by the fire, gently warmed up with chips, red cabbage, or mashed potatoes. The leeks give it that lovely wintery feel and compliment the goats cheese.

I'm going to show you how to create this dish, and also I can guarantee you the result is a delicious and wholesome meal that you will want to go back into the kitchen for more, and make again and again!

Total time required: 60-70 minutes

Ingredients.

Shortcrust pastry

- 250g plain flour
- 125g unsalted diced butter
- x1 pinch salt

Tart

- 50g unsalted diced butter
- x2 leeks sliced
- herbs of your choice (this can either be x3 sprigs of thyme/rosemary/several sage leaves chopped, or all 3. I personally feel you can only measure herbs with your heart, so the rules go out of the window with this one!)
- 250g goats cheese, broken up (feta also makes for a nice alternative)
- x3 eggs
- 300ml milk
- 50ml cream


Method

1. Heat your oven to 190c fan. To make the pastry, simply put the flour and the butter into a bowl and rub-together until it resembles a breadcrumb consistency. Add the salt and 3 tblspoons of water and mix until the dough becomes firm. I would point out now that if you wish to add some very finely-chopped herbs to the mixture it is perfectly fine and will not affect the finished result.

2. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until at the thickness of about a £1 coin. rub flour over your rolling pin and roll the pastry around the rolling pin (I find this the most effective method) and lay over a 25cm tart tin and shape into the base of the tin.

3. Fill the empty pie crust with baking beans - theses are very cheap, I got mine from Asda for £3 - the reason you do this is you are about to put this in the oven and the heat will lift the crust, ruining it. The beans will keep it flat. Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins until lightly brown.

4. Leave your lightly cooked empty pastry case to cool in the tin. Gently cook your chopped leeks and the butter over a medium heat for 5-7 minutes until nicely browned. Add a little oil, and if you so wish, finely chopped garlic and herbs of your choice. At this point, allow me to reiterate that you can add as much or as little herbs as you so wish.

5. Once done, lay the leeks in the empty pastry casing. Mix together your eggs, milk and cream. Add a pinch of salt and x2 pinches of pepper. The mixture should stiffen slightly, but if not do not worry as it will do so during the cooking process. And your herbs and the broken up goats cheese to the mixture finally and pour into the pastry case already containing the leeks.

6. Cook for upto 30 minutes until the surface of the tart is browned but not too much. Allow to cool for a few minutes and serve warm. If you keep in the fridge, cover with cling film and it will last for around 5-7 days. Great to enjoy warm or cold.