Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Tart

For an Oscars party last Sunday, I wanted to bring a couple of things that would transport easily, could sit at room temperature, and would be simple enough to pick up and eat with your fingers. I decided on this savory red pepper and goat cheese tart and one sweet item. The tart is from The Modern Baker which I’ve mentioned previously. The book is mostly devoted to sweets, but the few savory things in it all look excellent. The shrimp and toasted pumpkinseed and the tomato and cantal tarts caught my interest too. Savory tarts are great for prepping in advance because the crust can be made early, and in this case, the peppers could be roasted a day ahead as well.

The crust used here is made from an olive oil dough, and Malgieri warned that it would require more pressing as it is more elastic than a butter-based dough. It seemed to tear easily, but could be pressed back together well enough. Since there is no butter, you don’t have to worry as much about keeping the dough cold while working with it, and it can be left in the refrigerator for several days. I made a double quantity of the dough, fit it into two tart pans, and left them in the refrigerator for two days. I used red, yellow, and orange bell peppers which were roasted and cleaned. They were then layered in a wide dish with olive oil and sliced garlic and left in the refrigerator for a day. With two parts of the recipe already completed, assembling the tart was quick and easy on the day of the party.

Goat cheese was layered with the roasted peppers, and Malgieri notes that keeping the cheese under the peppers prevents it from becoming dry in the oven. I did my best, but the shapes of the peppers and the shapes of the tart pans didn’t make that possible for the entirety of both surfaces. Eggs, whisked with salt and pepper and lots of chopped parsley, were poured into the crusts, and they baked for about 35 minutes until set in the center.

Luckily, the cut pieces held together as well as they appeared to in the book, and small pieces worked fine as finger food. This is a very simple combination of flavors with just peppers, goat cheese, a scant bit of garlic, eggs, and parsley, but those things all worked together very well. The olive oil crust was a nice foundation for this because a buttery one might have pushed the richness level too far. I kept a couple of pieces at home which we re-warmed for dinner last night to enjoy along-side a salad. It was just as delicious out of the oven the second time as it was the first.