Tomato and Ricotta Tart starter

Tomato, Saffron and Ricotta Tart Recipe

50 Minutes
Serves: 2
homemade tomato and ricotta tartlets Individual short crust pastry cases with a delicious filling homemade tomato pesto topped with an egg, cream, Parmesan, ricotta and saffron filling and finished with oven roasted tomatoes. Delicious starter for a traditional Italian dinner party

Recipe Ingreds

Pastry

  • 40 grams butter
  • 80 grams plain flour
  • salt (to taste)
  • 20 ml water

Tart

  • black pepper (to taste)
  • 200 grams cherry tomatoes
  • 2 whole egg
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 25 grams parmesan or pecorino cheese
  • 100 grams ricotta cheese
  • 3 strands saffron
  • salt (to taste)
  • 80 ml single cream

Pesto

  • black pepper (to taste)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 0.5 tbsp olive oil
  • salt (to taste)
  • 4 whole sun dried tomatoes(in oil)

Recipe with pictures Steps

Step 1

  • sieve together the flour and salt into a bowl
  • cut the butter into cubes
  • add the butter to the flour
  • blend until the contents forms a crumb, by hand or using a food processor
  • if using a food processor empty the contents of the food processor into a large bowl

Step 2

  • add the water minimising mixing
  • form a ball and flatten
  • place the pastry ball in a plastic bag
  • place in the fridge to rest for 10 minutes

Step 3

  • peel and crush the garlic using the garlic crusher or chop finely
  • blend the sun dried tomatoes with the garlic using the hand liquidiser
  • add the olive oil while continuing to blend the tomatoes until the pesto has a thick pouring consistency
  • season with salt and pepper
  • set a side

Step 4

  • set the oven to 180C 350F or gas mark 4
  • lightly dust a clean work surface with flour
  • roll out the pastry into a circle to fit the flan dishes
  • fit pastry into flan dish
  • prick the pastry cases
  • trim the pastry to fit the flan dish
  • Cover in cling film and Place in the fridge to cool for 10 minutes

Step 5

  • wash the cherry tomatoes and then slice in half
  • place the tomato halves on the baking tray with a half the olive oil mix the tomatoes in the oil
  • place in the oven
  • bake for 8 to 10 mins
  • remove from the oven
  • set a side

step 6

  • remove the pastry case(s) from the fridge and place in the oven
  • bake for 8 to 10 mins
  • remove from the oven
  • set a side

Step 7

  • Soak the saffron in a tbsp of warm water
  • add the egg(s) to the jug
  • beat the eggs
  • Add the cream

Step 8

  • add the ricotta cheese to the jug
  • add the saffron water
  • blend using the hand liquidiser

Step 9

  • finely grate the parmesan
  • add to the jug
  • mix the ingredients
  • season with salt and pepper

Step 10

  • spread a thin layer of pesto on the tart base
  • pour in the cheese mixture
  • place the roasted tomatoes cut side up into the tart
  • place the tart in the oven and cook for 20 mins
  • cook until the tart is set and lightly brown

Step 11

  • remove the tarts from the oven
  • place the tart on the plate

Recipe Utensils

  • 1 baking tray
  • 2 chopping board
  • 1 food processor
  • 1 Garlic crusher
  • 1 grater
  • 2 hand liquidiser
  • 2 individual flan dish
  • 1 jug
  • 2 large knife
  • 1 medium bowl
  • 1 plastic bags
  • 1 rolling pin
  • 1 sieve

More recipes you might like: Around the World, Starter

PERFECT DINNERS, EXPERT PLANS, ZERO EFFORT USE OUR APP


Enjoy delicious dinners every night with the SoCook App your automated personal meal planner. Get super organised with zero effort, plus special occasion ? Use our Dinner Party Planner. Find out more

How to make tomato and ricotta tart

The individual pastry cases should be blind baked and then lined with a homemade tomato pesto made from garlic, sun dried tomatoes and olive oil. The cherry tomatoes are oven roasted, and the eggs cream, saffron, ricotta and grated parmesan are mixed together. The egg mixture is added to the pastry case and the cherry tomatoes are placed slice side up on the top of the flans. Baked in the oven till the egg mixture sets and is golden brown on top. 

When to serve ricotta and tomato flans

These make the perfect starter for a spring or summer dinner party, ideal for an Italian themed dinner party. If your short on time you can use pre bought pastry and also replace the tomato pesto with a shop bought tomato pesto, rather than making your own. These delicious tarts make a posh quiche and would make the ideal brunch or lunch main for a get together with friends

What makes these flans the best

Ricotta makes a delicious base with the eggs for a flan filling giving it a rich taste, pre roasting the cherry tomatoes add that extra tomato flavour along with the tomato pesto base. The star of this dish is the addition of the saffron to the egg mixture giving it an extra flavour combination that really works. 

About our tomato, saffron and ricotta tart

This recipe is from the recipe book Paradiso by Dennis Cotter, we loved this recipe, but we loved the subtle flavour of the tart without the olives so in our recipe we omit the olives. Make it with homemade shortcrust pastry or pre prepared shortcrust, we prefer homemade as it is better with a buttery shortcrust. 

Other tomato and shortcrust tart starters

Mozzarella Sticks with Rich Tomato Sauce

Leek and Blue Cheese Tartlet with Roasted Tomatoes

Find Delicious Recipes Quickly and Easily

The Virtual HomeCook app will find recipes you love and automatically put them into your own personalised monthly menu plan and shopping list! If you love to socialise it has a fantastic dinner party planner with a shopping list too! Find out more