Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart

There is lots of beetroot around at the moment it sweetness is lovely in salads but here I wanted to make it the star of the show in a lazy Sunday lunch.

Beetroot and Goats cheese love eachother and I was tempted to use thyme as the classic triad in the combination . However I decided to break with tradition and use a little sage and  fennel , the combination worked well the sage is earthy and works well with the beetroot and I love the hit of crunchy fennel seeds. The wholemeal pastry has a much nuttier texture than plain pastry adding a lovely note next time I would add a little walnut oil to the pastry.

Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart

200g of beetroot cut into quarters
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
50g of hard goats cheese ( or feta)
3 tbsp of fresh sage finely chopped
1 tbsp of fennel seeds

Wholemeal Pastry
100g of wholemeal flour
50g of butter
10ml of water
Pinch of salt

1. Crumb the butter into the flour & salt
2. Add the water and form a dough.
3. Leave in the fridge while you prepare the beetroot
4. Place the beetroot quarters in a roasting pan with the balsamic vinegar and drizzle of olive oil
5. Season with salt and pepper and roast at 180degC for 20 minutes
6. Roll out the pastry and line a 30cm diameter greased metal tart dish
7. Place in the the lined case in the oven for at least 10 minutes
8. Meanwhile crumble the goats cheese and mix with the sage , and fennel seeds season well with salt and pepper
9. Remove the beetroot and pastry case from the oven
10. Fill the case with the beetroot and goats cheese
11. Return to the oven a bake for a further 15 minutes