I often get left with carrots at the bottom of the fridge. They play an overlooked, but important, base in so many meals: part of a mirepoix, in casseroles and in pies to name a few. Rarely, in my kitchen anyway, do the carrots get to be the star of the dish. So when some beautiful rainbow carrots arrived in the veg box it would have been rude to simply chuck them into various dinners. This time, I wanted to celebrate this lovely root in a rainbow carrot tart with summer herbs and goat’s cheese. A seasonal halfway tart if you will; one that is both full of summer flavours and the anticipation of autumn.
Ingredients
You will need (for one large tart, enough for 4-6 people):
- Shortcrust pastry, around 300g, or one ready rolled, all butter, sheet
- 1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 big handfuls mixed herbs: dill, parsley, chives
- Salt and pepper
- 500g crème fraîche
- 150g soft goat’s cheese, cut in cubes
- 3 eggs
- 8-10 rainbow carrots, peeled and sliced lengthways
- Sprinkle of dried (or fresh) thyme
- 1 tbsp honey
- Oil and butter for cooking and greasing
Method
Start by making the pastry. I had some leftover that I had previously frozen. If you’re making the pastry from scratch here’s a handy shortcrust pastry recipe.
Preheat an oven to 190C.
Grease a baking tray, around 30 x 40cm, with butter. The tray needs to have edges to hold the pastry and tart filling.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until it’s a little bigger than the baking tray. Place the pastry on the baking tray and leave the sides overhanging.
Prick the pastry all over with a fork. Pop a sheet of greaseproof paper over the pastry, fill with baking beans and then bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. If you don’t have baking beans you can use dried beans or rice.
Remove from the oven, remove the baking beans and greaseproof paper and put to one side.
While the pastry bakes, make the filling. Fry the onions and garlic on a medium to low heat in a little oil until well softened.
In a bowl mix together the crème fraîche, cheese, eggs, herbs, onion and garlic and salt and pepper. Pour this mixture into the pastry case and spread it out to fill the case.
Pour a little oil onto the carrots and sprinkle over the thyme. Rub the carrots in the oil and thyme then arrange them on top of the tart.
Return the tart to the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, drizzle with the honey then put back in the oven for a further five minutes, or until golden brown.
The inspiration for this tart comes from the classic combination of figs, goat’s cheese and honey. I thought, if it works for figs why not try it with carrots? I can safely say it was very successful. Don’t worry about cutting up the cheese into neat pieces. I had all sorts of different sized bits of cheese and it made the tart so interesting to eat; especially when you were the lucky owner of a particularly cheesy slice. The carrots were wonderfully sweet and slightly earthy, the herbs were fragrant and the filling creamy but not too much so. A little drizzle of honey at the end finished everything off perfectly. The dill gives the rainbow carrot tart a fantastically aniseed flavour, so don’t skimp on it. Served alongside a nice fresh salad it was both a farewell to summer and a hello to autumn.
Oh yum, that looks absolutely amazing☺
I just saw this on IG. It’s so pretty. Like almost too pretty to eat!!!
I know what you mean! But it smelled too good not to eat!
I’m exactly the same way! I always seem to find a bag of carrots at the bottom of the refrigerator… And it always inspires something fun in the kitchen! Love this tart… And I just saw a rainbow carrots at Trader Joe’s! For once, I will get the carrots specifically for this dish, and not from the bottom of the crisper.
I hope you enjoy it David, even better that you can get some rainbow carrots.
I love this recipe! I love how pretty the rainbow carrots are, too, so they are perfect for this tart. I always forget how easy it is to make a tart (with pre-made dough, of course) – yours is so pretty and sounds heavenly!
I always forget how easy it is too, especially as you say, with pre-made dough. The filling is so simple to mix up and then pop it in the oven.
Looks so very pretty and yummy with those gorgeous rainbow carrots!
Healthy and attractive, who could ask for more ? Thank you dear and enjoy your day 🙂
This sounds fabulous. I love pretty carrots and this dish is perfect for them!
your words about carrots are so true! at least they get featured in a cake sometimes, though for me, that’s more about the spices and frosting. 🙂 lovely tart!
So true, carrots are a great excuse to make carrot cake!!
Best looking carrot recipe ever! This looks wonderful, and I’ll bet its flavor is better. Thanks!
That’s very kind, thank you!
Herbs are about all that’s left in my garden! What a delicious way to enjoy the last of my summer harvest!! Beautiful tart!
It is great to use big handfuls of fresh herbs, they give such a wonderful flavour.
Carrots are so yummy this time of the year so what a great way to honor them when they’re in there prime. I don’t know if I can find rainbow carrots at our weekly market, but they should have freshly harvested carrots that I think whould work just fine. Although, it won’t be as pretty as your tart.
Any carrots would be perfect!
Carrots really don’t get the attention they deserve but your tart makes them a star.
I know, they deserve a bit more attention every now and then I think!
What a pretty dish. I love the idea of using rainbow carrots and I’m a big fan of goats cheese.
Thank you :). The salty goat’s cheese is perfect with the sweet carrots and honey.
Caroline, what a gorgeous tart! The rainbow carrots are so beautiful. Love the flavors with the goat cheese and herbs.
Thanks Kelly!