Wild Garlic & Three Cheese Tomato Tart – A delightful summery tart (quiche) which makes good use of seasonal cherry tomatoes as well as odds and ends of cheese that may be lurking in the fridge, and ready-made puff pastry. (Use 2 cloves of chopped bulb garlic when wild garlic is out of season)

Easy Summer Recipe

for

Picnics and Lunch Boxes

Finally, summer seems to have arrived with long, balmy days of unfettered sunshine and crystal clear azure skies. And, with it comes the desire to eat “sur l’herbe”, to spend less time in the kitchen and enjoy the outdoors. Today’s recipe for Wild Garlic & Three Cheese Tomato Tart is just the recipe you may have been looking for……using ready-made puff pastry (yes, PUFF pastry and NOT shortcrust pastry as is usually used in tarts and quiches) with seasonal cherry tomatoes on the vine. I had a few leaves of wild garlic left in the garden, hiding behind some bushy shrubs, which went into this tart, as well as some bits of cheese that were lurking at the back of the fridge. The tart was made recently for B and B guests who were staying with us, and it was proclaimed to be a culinary triumph! The leftovers were devoured by us next day, in the manner of an indoor picnic, with salad and cold potatoes.

This Wild Garlic & Three Cheese Tomato Tart looks so elegant that people will think you have slaved over a hot mixing bowl to make it, but, it is simplicity itself. To make sure my generous filling was contained in the pastry case, I added an extra “rim” to the tart before baking, which looks great, I think you’ll agree, and worked a treat. The combination of Cheddar, Cheshire and feta cheese also worked very well, but you can of course use any odds and ends of cheese you have at your disposal, maybe making it a two cheese tart, or even a five cheese tart! I know that quiches and tarts are usually made with shortcrust pastry, but I love the lightness and flakiness of puff pastry in this style of open-face pie. One tip, to make sure you don’t have the dreaded “soggy bottom”, you need to bake the tart in a slightly cooler oven than usual for puff pastry, and for longer. The results I think, speak for themselves as you can see from my photos – you will be rewarded with light puffy, pastry case filled with a creamy cheesy custard.

If you are bereft of wild garlic, never fear, add some extra spring onion tops (green onions/scallions) and a couple of cloves of bulb garlic. Having said that, if you’ve had the foresight to freeze some wild garlic, then that’s just fine and dandy too. Serve just slightly warm (at room temperature) after baking, or cold with salad and new potatoes. And, as I mentioned before, this luscious tart is very well-behaved when taken on picnics or when packed in the school or office lunch box. One more tip, just before serving, you can ease the stems off the vine tomatoes, the tomatoes will stay in place for that aesthetic look, but your guests won’t be chewing on baked tomato vines! The recipe is shared below on printable recipe card, and if you make this, PLEASE let me know how it was, and maybe what cheeses you used too! Have a great weekend, and see you next week with more recipes and traveller’s tales from home and abroad. Karen

Wild Garlic & Three Cheese Tomato Tart

Print recipe

Serves	7 to 8 slices
Prep time	30 minutes
Cook time	1 hour
Total time	1 hour, 30 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Milk, Wheat
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion	Barbecue, Birthday Party, Casual Party, Formal Party
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

Wild Garlic & Three Cheese Tomato Tart - A delightful summery tart (quiche) that makes good use of seasonal cherry tomatoes as well as odds and ends of cheese that may be lurking in the fridge, as well as ready-made puff pastry. (Use 2 cloves of chopped bulb garlic when wild garlic is out of season)

Ingredients

375g ready made puff pastry
Butter, for greasing
6 free-range eggs
150ml full fat milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
125g grated Cheddar cheese (mature or vintage Cheddar is best)
75g feta cheese, crumbled
75g Cheshire cheese, crumbled (Wensleydale can be used too)
Small bunch of spring onions (trimmed and finely diced)
Handful of wild garlic leaves (about 12 to 16 leaves, finely chopped)
Cherry tomatoes on the vine (about 20 to 25 in small bunches)
Extra wild garlic for the garnish (finely chopped)

Note

Directions

Step 1	Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease a 22cm (9") pie plate/dish with butter and then line it with baking parchment.
Step 2	If the pastry is ready-rolled, line the pie plate/dish with the pastry, leaving a wide strip of pastry for the edge of the crust. Ease the pastry into the lined pie plate/dish but do NOT stretch as it will shrink during baking. Take the strip of remaining pastry and cut it into 2 or 3 pieces, then wet the underside before adding it around the edge of the pastry to raise the crust higher - push it gently to make it stick to the existing pastry. (If pastry is in a block, roll the pastry out to fit the pie plate/dish and proceed as above)
Step 3	Beat the eggs with the milk and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the grated Cheddar cheese to the egg and milk mixture.
Step 4	Scatter the feta cheese, Cheshire cheese, spring onions and wild garlic over the base of the pastry, then pour the egg and cheese mixture into the tart case.
Step 5	Arrange the cherry tomatoes on the vine on top, and then scatter the remaining wild garlic over, gently pushing it into the egg and cheese mixture.
Step 6	Bake in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, checking after 30 minutes and turning around if it appears to be browning on one side only. The pastry will be puffed up and golden brown when fully baked, and the filling will be set with just a slight wobble and also golden brown.
Step 7	Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before easing the tart out of the plate/dish and placing it on a large serving platter.
Step 8	Cut into wedges to serve - makes 7 to 8 slices and is just as delicious when completely cold, which makes it suitable for taking on picnics or for the office lunch box.
Step 9	Not suitable for freezing with the tomatoes, can be frozen without the tomatoes.