Phyllo Tomato Goat Cheese Tart
As the summer’s bounty of great, fresh tomatoes slows down, you need to squeeze in as many great tomato recipes as you can before its back to canned tomatoes. This dish is a great summery dinner/starter when you have something akin to a pizza craving that’s a bit lighter and different from the norm. So rather than bothering with a full on pizza dough and tomato sauce, instead, give a Phyllo Tomato Goat Cheese Tart a try.
Instead of pizza dough, I used a base composed of several sheets of phyllo dough for something crisp and crunchy rather than doughy. Then, instead of a tomato sauce, I chose to enjoy those sweet, bite-sized campari tomatoes, sliced thin and layered all over the tart. Underneath it all is a mushroom duxelle, basil, thyme, and goat cheese crumbles, which all together, was light, fresh, and very tasty. The flavors blended quite nicely–you get the earthiness of the mushrooms, the sweet of the herbs and tomatoes, light acid, a tang from goat cheese, and a great flaky, buttery flavor from the phyllo crust. Plus, if you arrange the tomatoes right, this can look pretty darn good. 
This is also my entry in Savory Pies, an event being hosted by Ivy at Kopiaste. Being very much a lover of pies sweet and savory, I can’t wait to see what delicious creations will be inspired by this event.
- ~1/2 lb phyllo dough, partial overlap (for a bigger square) layered
- ~3 tbsp butter
- “duxelle”
- 1 tbsp butter
- bit of olive oil
- dash of salt
- 8 oz button mushroom
- 1 shallot
- pale parts of 1 leek
- 6 cloves garlic
- splash of white wine to deglaze after sautéeing
- ~1 lb campari tomato
- handful of basil (chiffonade it)
- few thyme leaves
- ~6 oz goat cheese
- salt
- pepper
Begin by preparing something akin to a duxelle. Finely mince the shallot, garlic, pale parts of the leek, and mushroom.
Sauté the shallot and leek in some olive oil and a knob of butter for 2 minutes, add in the garlic for 1 minute, and finally the mushrooms with a bit of salt. Continue to sauté for 10-15 minutes until the mushrooms just begin to carmellize. Deglaze with a bit of wine and cook until all liquid is absorbed. Set this aside.
With the duxelle prepared, the tart will need a base, so prepare the phyllo dough. This is just like any other phyllo-based dish. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay down a piece of phyllo dough. Depending on the size of your phyllo dough (I used store-bought, so they’re kind of smallish), you might want to use two sheets side-by-side (with a little bit of overlap, with some melted butter brushed so they stick, of course!). Layer this as you usually would–brush with melted, clarified butter, lay down a sheet, and repeat this for 4-8 layers (whatever thickness suits you).
And now, simply lay out the toppings. Begin by spreading the duxelle evenly over very nearly the entire thing (leaving a small edge for “crust”). Then, toss on some chopped thyme leaves and chiffonades of basil followed by crumbles of goat cheese.
And then, the laborious part, make evenly sized, thin slices of the campari tomatoes and lay them all out in some regular pattern with a little bit of overlap.
With the entire tart topped, bake this at 400°F for 20 min.
Enjoy!
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