I had just enough fresh plums left over after a recent jam making session to try a beautiful Plum and Goat Cheese Tart that was featured in a back issue of Bon Appetit.
Usually when I look at a recipe and it has more than one or two steps or procedures involved, I bypass it. I guess sometimes I just don’t trust my own abilities at tackling a “complicated” recipe. Not that this one was complicated by any means, but it was time consuming. Don’t think you’re going to come home from work and whip this up right quick for dinner. From start to finish, it took about 4 hours. The crust came together very easily as did the streusel topping. I added 2 extra minutes to the streusel bake time. The topping made more than enough for this recipe so I put the rest of it in a zippy bag and will recycle it into another recipe. The streusel was a very tasty sweet & savory creation with the fresh thyme. I could also pick up the hint of the black pepper. I’ll have to say it has to be one of the prettiest tarts I’ve ever made. I think this would be excellent served as a first course or even as a light lunch with a salad.  Skip the olive oil and fleur de sel and it would be equally as delicious as a dessert. But be sure to use a good quality olive oil when you do drizzle it over the top because it definitely adds a new dimension to the overall flavor. I tasted the tart after it cooled for an hour and while it tasted good, I enjoyed it much better the next day after the cheeses had time to meld together. The goat cheese was much more pronounced. This recipe will definitely find its way onto my summer menu. I just know there are other avid goat cheese lovers out there who will find as much pleasure in this as I did…. Enjoy!
PLUM TART WITH GOAT CHEESE AND WALNUT-THYME STREUSEL
Adding fleur de sel at the end transforms this tart into a delicious cross between a cheese course and dessert.
Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup walnuts (about 2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 egg yolk
7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Streusel
1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup walnuts (about 3 ounces)
1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Filling and topping
8 ounces soft fresh goat cheese
8 ounces (1 cup) whole-milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
4 large plums (about 1 pound), halved, pitted, cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
Fleur de sel*
For crust:
Blend first 4 ingredients in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter; blend until coarse meal forms. Add egg yolk; blend until moist clumps form. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Cover; chill 1 hour.
For streusel:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend flour, walnuts, both sugars, coarse salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add thyme and blend 5 seconds. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub in until small moist clumps form.
Spread streusel mixture on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes. Stir, then continue baking until golden brown, about 7 minutes longer. Cool streusel completely (mixture will become crisp).
For filling and topping:
Combine both cheeses, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon oil, sugar, nutmeg, coarse salt, and pepper in large bowl; stir to blend well. Refrigerate while baking crust.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust until sides are set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Continue to bake crust until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 15 minutes longer. Cool crust completely.
Spread cheese filling in crust. Arrange plums in concentric circles atop filling, leaving 3/4-inch plain border. Sprinkle streusel lightly over tart. Refrigerate tart at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
Remove pan sides; place tart on platter. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey and 2 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with fleur de sel. Cut tart into wedges.
*Fleur de sel, a sea salt from Brittany, can be found at specialty foods stores.
Makes 8 servings.
Bon Appetit
September 2003
