ThisBeetroot and Goats Cheese Tart with homemade savoury shortcrust pastry is an original savoury tart to serve as an appetiser, entree, main or side. The delicious vegetarian tart is the perfect mix of flakey, crunchy, sweet and salty!
Jump to:
Why we love this recipe
This savoury tart is one for all of the beetroot lovers out there... I'm one of you!
With two layers of beets, the salty goats cheese and the addition of red onion, this tart makes a great dish to pack in your lunchbox for work, to serve as an entree, a side or even a light main!
I simply love a good savoury tart because it is such a versatile dish and you can basically use any of your favourite ingredients (or fridge leftovers) to make one. Whether it is a Gruyere and Leek Tart, a Puff Pastry Mushroom Tart or a Roasted Pumpkin Tart, I'm always in!
The vegetarian tart is made from 3 elements:
- a Savoury Shortcrust Pastry
- a Beetroot and Goats Cheese Mousse
- crunchy Beetroot Cubes, slices of Red Onion and caramelised Goats Cheese Crumbs
Savory Shortcrust Pastry
This is my basic shortcrust pastry recipe that I basically use for all of my savoury tarts. I make it in the food processor, so it is super quick and easy to make... and less messy!
If you do not want to make your own pastry, you can of course use store-bought shortcrust pastry - just make sure it is not a sweetened one.
Ingredients:
You will only need 4 basic ingredients to make this Savoury Shortcrust Pastry (scroll down for all quantities):
- Flour: Plain/All-Purpose
- Butter: unsalted and very cold
- Salt: a simple table salt or fine salt. You can also add any dried herbs or spices to your pastry!
- Water: very cold
How to make savoury pastry shell
Like I mentioned above, this crust is made in the food processor - but you can absolutely make it by hands as well. You may want to use a Pastry Blender if making it by hands.
To make Shortcrust Pastry in the food processor:
- Place the Flour and Salt in the bowl of your food processor. - photo 1
- Cut the cold Butter into small cubes and add it to the flour. Pulse to mix until you get thin crumbs - you should not see thick pieces of butter anymore. - photo 2 & 3
- Add the cold Water, a little bit at the time, pulsing well between addition, until the dough starts to come together. You may need a little bit more or less water, so make sure to add it gradually. The dough has enough water when it starts to combine into a ball (even if it still looks like lots of crumbs). - photo 4 & 5
My best tip to make a pastry crust that does not shrink or move in the oven is to roll it straight away between two sheets of baking paper, then let it rest in the fridge until ready to use. I recommend resting the dough for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hours).
After resting, line your tart pan with the pastry, poke the bottom with a fork and leave it to rest again for 1 hour (or up to 24 hours). Just before blind baking it, place it in the freezer for 15 minutes.
This way, the gluten contained in the dough has lots of time to relax and is not activated later one - which will help with no shrinkage.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
You can read more about how to make this savoury pastry here - including all my tips, detailed step by step instructions and troubleshooting.
Beetroot Tart Filling with Goats Cheese
There are two separate elements used to fill this Goats Cheese Tart with Beetroot and Red Onion. First, a mousse (or cream) made from cooked beetroot blended with goats cheese, then some crunchy raw veggies and goats cheese.
Goats Cheese and Beetroot Mousse
This mousse is made to create the bottom layer of the tart. A deliciously flavourful and moist bottom that works perfectly with the crunchy toppings.
Ingredients (scroll down for quantities):
- Raw Beets, peeled and cut in half
- Olive Oil
- Goats Cheese
To make the mousse:
- Preheat your oven on 180'C/350'F.
- Peel the Beetroots, slice them in half (so they cook more quickly) and place them over a large sheet of aluminium foil.
- Drizzle with the Olive Oil, then wrap them with then foil.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until soft.
- Place them in the bowl of your food processor with the Goats Cheese and blend until smooth.
Crunchy Veggie Topping
The final step of the recipe is to prepare the crunchy topping. They add texture, crunch and lots of flavours!
I used:
- Beetroot
- Red Onion
- Goats Cheese Crumbs
- Olive Oil
- Salt, Pepper + any spice you want
- Fresh Rosemary (optional)
I simply peeled and cut the beetroot into small cubes, sliced the red onion and crumbed the goats cheese.
I placed all of those ingredients over the Mousse and drizzled it with the Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper and Rosemary. The tart is ready to go back in the oven to finish baking!
Goat's Cheese is such a great cheese to bake with because it get all caramelised and crunchy. If you also love baked goats cheese, check out my Zucchini and Goats Cheese Muffins.
Recipe FAQs
Because the bottom of the tart will be filled with a relatively wet mousse, I did blind bake the pastry for about 10 minutes. I did not use baking beads or weights here, because we want the bottom of the pastry to dry out.
This Beet Tart is best served warm, straight away. Otherwise it should be kept in the fridge, covered with wrap or foil. It will keep well in the fridge for 2 days. It will still be fine to eat after that, but the crust will start to become soggy after a couple of days.
You can also make this tart in advance, store it in the fridge, then re-heat it before serving it. If you know you are making it ahead, you may want to under-bake it initially then finish the baking just before serving it to re-heat it.
The best way to re-heat any pastry is in the oven - 10 to 15 minutes at 180'C/350'F. This will keep the pastry crunchy and flakey. You can re-heat the whole tart, or individual slices.
Alternatively, you can re-heat individual slices in the microwave - but the pastry won't stay as flakey when re-heated in the microwave. You can also eat this tart cold for lunch!
This Beetroot Goats Cheese Tart is delicious on its own - and that how I always eat it. You can also accompany it with a side of Salad or roasted veggies.
More Savoury Tarts:
- Cheese and Tomato Quiche
- Spinach and Feta Quiche
- Smoked Salmon Quiche with Leeks
- Asparagus & Goat Cheese Tart from Fearless Dining
- Spinach, Onion and Goats Cheese Tart from Bon Appet'eat
- Feta, Basil and Tomato Galette
- Asparagus and Feta Quiche
- Onion, Fig and Feta Tart
- Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
- Cheddar Broccoli Quiche
- Mushroom and Leek Quiche
Made this recipe?
Let us know if you liked it by leaving a comment below, and tag us on Instagram @a.baking.journey with a photo of your creation!
Recipe
Beetroot & Goat's Cheese Tart
Ingredients
Savory Shortcrust Pastry
- 150 gr (1 cup) Plain / All-Purpose Flour
- 80 gr (1/3 cup) Unsalted Butter, cold
- 1 pinch Salt
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) Cold Water
Beetroot & Goats Cheese Mousse
- 2 Large Beetroots
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 50 gr (2 oz) Goat's Cheese
Crunchy Toppings
- 1 Large Beetroot, cubed
- 1/2 Red Onion, sliced
- 80 gr (3 oz) Goat's Cheese Crumbs
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- Fresh Rosemary, to taste
Instructions
Savory Shortcrust Pastry
- Place the Flour and Salt in your food processor. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add it them the flour. Pulse until you get thin crumbs (1)
- Pour in the cold watter, a little bit at the time, blending well between each addition. Keep adding the water until the dough comes together (2).
- Place the dough over a large sheet of baking paper, and cover with a second sheet. Roll the pastry into a large circle (3), then place in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hours in advance) (4).
Beetroot & Goats Cheese Mousse
- While the pastry is resting, start preparing the Filling. Preheat your oven on 180°C/350°F.
- Peel the Beetroots, slice them in half and place them over two sheets of aluminium foil. Drizzle with the Olive Oil and the Salt, then wrap the foil around them to fully cover them. Place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.
- When the beetroots are baked, cut them into smaller cubes and place them in your food processor with the Goats Cheese. Blend until smooth and combined. Set aside.
Putting the Tart together
- Take the pastry out of the fridge and line it in the tart pan. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Place back in the fridge for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hours in advance).
- Preheat your oven on 180'C/350'F and place the pastry in the freezer while the oven is preheating. Blind bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the bottom of the pastry feels dry to the touch (5).
- While the pastry is blind baking, prepare the rest of the toppings: peel the last Beetroot and cut it into small cubes, and slice the Red Onion into thin strips.
- Carefully remove the shortcrust pastry from the oven and fill with the Goats Cheese and Beetroot Mousse.
- Cover with the cubes of raw Beetroot, Red Onion Slices and Goats Cheese Crumbs. Sprinkle the Salt and Pepper and drizzle the Olive Oil over the toppings. Optionally, also sprinkle the rosemary leaves.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Notes
- You should not see any big pieces of butter anymore.
- You may need more or less Water - make sure you gradually add the water and blend well between each addition. Stop adding the water as soon as the dough comes together.
- I find it helpful to place the tart pan over the rolled pastry to check if I have rolled it enough, and to estimate if the pastry will fit in the pan
- You may want to place the rolled pastry over a baking tray to stay flat in the fridge.
- I did not use baking beads to weight down the pastry here - we do want to bottom of the pastry to bake.
