I had the most amazing weekend with friends. I celebrated my recent birthday with my annual cocktail party. So we may have had a cocktail or two, or three, or four......gulp, was there really so many? I can't remember the last time I let my hair down and painted the 'house' red. I had so much fun, ate too much, drank too much and got a bit of a dance on the 'dance floor' too! Fun times!
It's true, the most simple things in life bring you the most happiness. So if you do only one thing this week, have fun, laugh a little and most of all, smile! It will transform you and the people around you instantly.
Here's something else to bring a smile to your face. Tomatoes are a natural source of antioxidants such as vitamin C and lycopene. For more information on vitamin A, see Vitamin A - Bending The Rules In Anti-Aging.
Tomatoes are actually one of the world's most commonly eaten fruit. It is classified as a fruit as it contains seeds. Tomato seedlings have apparently also been grown in space!
This party tart as I call it, is inspired by Delia's tart. It is unfortunately not wheat free. I hope to experiment again with a wheat and gluten free pastry base and I when I do, I'll be sure to share the pastry recipe with you.
Ingredients
375g ready to roll puff pastry
125g soft goats cheese
25g parmesan cheese, grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon herbs de provence
2-3 large deep red tomatoes, thinly sliced
Methods
1. Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC.
2. Unroll the pastry and place this on a round pastry dish.
3. In a bowl, mix the goats cheese, parmesan, garlic and herbs de provence. I brought some back with me from France which are absolutely pungent and aromatic.
4. Spread the cheese mixture evenly all over the pastry base.
5. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on top and finish with a generous grating of black pepper and a tiny sprinkling of herbs de provence.
6. Bake in the oven for 55 minutes or until the pastry is a gorgeous brown.
Although this is a delicious vegetarian tart, it is rather high in fat. The pastry I used consisted of around 24g of fat per 100g. The addition of the cheese increases the fat content of this tart considerably. Enjoy this with friends during special occasions. It was perfect with cocktails once cut up into long thin pieces.
