Cheese Tart With Peas and Herbs

This Cheese Tart Recipe with a three-cheese filling is my ultimate savory tart recipe. Garnish the tart with anything your like. Slightly blanched peas and super fresh herbs always make a great balance on this tart crust flavored with turmeric and rosemary.

We love savory pastries as a snack. Our other favorites are vegetarian quiche with leeks and Turkish borek. Go check them out too!

I think this cheese tart recipe is the best savory tart recipe I’ve ever made. The crust, its filling and the toppings are all so good and they make the most wonderful combination of flavors. I’m so in love with the marriage of yellow and green in this recipe.

Ingredients

Crust

It is so tasty that I can eat it on its own. What do we need for it?

• Flour
• Salt
• Turmeric
• Rosemary
• Cold Butter
• Cold milk
• Water

As you see, besides the regular ingredients for making a tart crust, I use turmeric (for a lovely color) and rosemary (for the flavor). That's why I call it unique.

Filling

I make a combination of different cheeses and eggs. So what do we need for this cheese tart filling recipe?

• milk
• eggs
• goat cheese
• feta cheese
• mini mozzarella balls
• salt
• egg yolk

Topping

I often keep things simple and use whatever vegetable I have, depending on the season. This time my toppings are:

• fresh peas
• green onions
• purslane
• micro greens

How To Make

The recipe has four easy parts. 

First, make the crust. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Grate the cold butter gradually into the bowl and stir with a spatula. Add in the cold milk and the cold water gradually, stirring with a spatula. Then use your hands and make a non-sticky dough. You should be quick at this step so that the dough won't get warm. Wrap with a plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll it out and place it on a big tart pan or divide the dough into three and roll each out to fit in small tart pans. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, wait in the freezer for 20 minutes and then bake with a type of tart weight. (I use beans).

Second, make the cheese filling.

Third, share the filling on the baked tart crust. Brush the top with beaten egg yolk and bake.

Finally, top your tart with blanched peas and herbs when it cools down.

Note about the crust:

I’ve been a bit obsessed with turmeric these days after I learn that it’s one of those superfoods that have numerous health benefits. The flavor of turmeric in this buttery and flaky crust is so subtle that nobody can notice it unless they are told so. For an extra flavor, I added a little dried rosemary in the crust dough, which went very well with the cheese, peas and herbs.

How To Make The Filling

The cheese filling is quite straightforward.

Combine the goat cheese and feta with heated milk in a pot. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add in one tablespoon of hot milk mixture and whisk constantly. This will help warm the eggs and prevent them to cook. Never pour all the hot milk mixture over eggs at once. Do it gradually. When the egg mixture is warm enough, transfer it into the milk pot and heat it again. Add in mozzarella balls and stir. Remove from heat.

About The Topping

The green topping takes almost no time.

First, blanch the fresh peas in the boiling water for a few minutes and then immediately transfer them into freezing water to stop their cooking. Top each tart with these peas and herbs.

Although the process of making this cheese tart recipe sounds a bit complex, it’s really easy to make. You just need some time as you need to chill the dough and have two steps of baking; crust without the filling and then with the filling. But believe me it’s worth every second! With their sweet, savory and subtle spicy flavor, these min tarts are good enough to turn your breakfast or brunch an unforgettable occasion.

Turn It Into A Vegetable Tart

Although I love peas and herbs on my tart, they are completely optional. You can easily turn this recipe into a cheesy vegetable tart. What you need to do is to place whatever veggie you like on your tart right after the cheese filling and bake them altogether. Don't forget to brush the vegetables on the top with olive oil before baking.

What vegetables can you use?

Tomatoes would be amazing. That's for sure. Okay, using this recipe, I need to make a tomato tart soon.

The other vegetable is definitely zucchini. Did you love creating recipes with zucchini as much as I do? Go ahead and use thinly sliced zucchini on the topping.

Still craving for a sweet tart? Check these out!

Persimmon Kefir Tart

4-Ingredient Chocolate Strawberry Tartlets

More Savory Pastries

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