Enticing Tomato and Brie de Meaux Tart!
Tomato and Brie Tart
Oh Brie! No, I am not referring to an infamous desperate housewife, but rather the more tempting, nutty, soft cheese version well known for its velvety thin rind of white mould. For interest’s sake, I did look up the girl name “Brie” on Babynames and other such “naming engines”, but all they could tell me was that it was French. Which leads me to wonder, WHY would you name your child after a cheese?
Brie, or Brie de Meaux as the knowledgeable French call it, is you guessed it, originally a French cheese and is known as the “King of Cheeses”! It is made from raw cow’s milk, (it dates back to Pre-Pasteurisation times) and is made in the shape of a flat wheel with an average weight of 2.6 kilograms. According to French Cheese, the AOC cheese Brie de Meaux’s origin is protected and can only come from a certain area in the Ile-de-France near Paris. It was noted by the French revolutionary Lavallée in 1793, that Brie was well-loved by both the rich as well as the poor, and thus advocated equality well before it was thought to be possible! Not many other foods can boast promoting such worldly virtues. SO support equality and start cooking! it's even vegetarian friendly!
Tomato and Brie tart
Ingredients: 1 ½ cup plain flour, pinch of salt, 90g chilled butter diced, ½ cup milk, 2 egg yolks, 2 cloves of garlic crushed, 1 ½ tbsp wholegrain mustard, 60g mature cheddar grated, 4 tomatoes sliced, 125g Brie thinly sliced, sea salt and pepper.
Steps: Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
To make the shortcrust pastry, sift the flour and pinch of salt into a large bowl. Then using fingertips, rub butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add 3-4 tbsp of cold water and mix to form a dough. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Roll dough out between 2 sheet of baking paper to a 5mm thickness then line a 25cm pastry dish with the pastry, trim the edges.
Line the pastry with baking paper and baking beans/rice and blind bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove the beans/rice and baking paper and bake pastry for a further 5 minutes then set aside for 5 minutes.
To make the filling, spread the mustard over the pastry base evenly, then sprinkle with cheddar. Arrange the tomatoes and brie on top. In a small glass bowl, whisk together the milk, egg yolks, crushed garlic, salt and pepper; then pour the egg mixture over the tomatoes/brie. Cook for 30-35 minutes until just set and golden. Serve hot or cold.
Serves 6
Tip! If you want a lighter alternative, use filo pastry instead of shortcrust pastry.
