Goat Cheese Tart On Phyllo Food

RUSTIC TOMATO CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with oil and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon goat cheese. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Repeat layers, brushing oil all the way to edges., Sprinkle onion over top to within 1 in. of edges; sprinkle with fontina cheese. Arrange tomato slices in a slightly overlapping pattern over fontina cheese. Sprinkle with chives, basil, salt and pepper. Bring up edges of tart over filling., Bake until crust is golden brown, 30-35 minutes.

GOAT CHEESE, CHARD AND HERB PIE IN A PHYLLO CRUST

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you stem and wash the Swiss chard. If the stems are wide and meaty set them aside for another purpose. If they are thin and sinewy, discard. When the water comes to a boil salt generously and add the chard leaves. Fill a bowl with cold water. Blanch the chard for 1 minute, just until tender, and transfer to the bowl of cold water. Drain, take up the chard by the handful and squeeze out excess water. Chop medium-fine. You should have about 1 cup chopped cooked chard.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Blend together the eggs and goat cheese, either in an electric mixer or in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the milk and the garlic and blend until smooth. If using a processor, scrape into a bowl. Stir in the blanched chopped chard, the herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Brush a 9- or 10-inch tart pan or cake pan with olive oil and place on a baking sheet for easier handling. Open up the package of phyllo and unfold the sheets of dough. Remove 8 sheets of phyllo and fold the remaining dough back up. Wrap tightly in plastic, return to the box if you wish and either refrigerate or freeze. Lay a sheet of phyllo in the pan, tucking it into the seam of the pan, with the edges overhanging the rim. Brush it lightly with olive oil (or melted butter and oil) and turn the pan slightly, then place another sheet on top, positioning it so that the edges overlap another section of the pan's rim. Continue to layer in 6 more sheets of phyllo, brushing each one with oil - both the bottom and the sides and edges that overhang the pan -- and staggering them so that the overhang on the rim of the pan is evenly distributed and covers the entire pan.
• Pour the goat cheese and chard filling into the phyllo-lined pan, scraping all of it out of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Scrunch the overhanging phyllo in around the edges of the pan to form an attractive lip. Brush the scrunched rim with olive oil. Place in the oven and bake 40 minutes, until the filling is puffed, set and lightly colored on the surface. Remove from the heat (if it puffed up it will settle) and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

WARM GOAT CHEESE IN PHYLLO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Unroll the sheets of phyllo dough on a flat surface and cover them with a slightly damp towel. (If the towel is too wet, the dough will get sticky.) Working quickly so the dough doesn't dry out, place one sheet of phyllo on a board, brush lightly with melted butter, and sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs. Place a second sheet of phyllo on top, brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Continue until you have 4 sheets stacked up. Cut the sheets in half crosswise to make 2 almost-squares.
• Cut one of the goat cheeses in half horizontally, making 2 thin discs. Place each disc in the center of one phyllo square. Starting at one corner, fold the phyllo up over the cheese and continue folding and pleating the phyllo around the cheese, as though you're wrapping a round gift that's tied on top. You will end with extra phyllo dough on top; twist the excess into a topknot. Brush the discs all over with melted butter and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Continue with the remaining phyllo dough and 2 goat cheese discs to make 4 additional packages.
• Bake for 20 minutes, until the phyllo is lightly browned. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• While the cheese packages bake, place the salad greens in a large bowl. Whisk the vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Still whisking, slowly add the olive oil, making an emulsion. Toss the salad greens with enough vinaigrette to moisten.
• Distribute the salad among 6 plates and place one warm goat cheese package in the center of each plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

CARAMELISED ONION, GOAT CHEESE & THYME TARTS

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 435°F
• Melt half the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat.
• Add the onions and cook for 25-30 minutes until soft and golden. Stir in the sugar, balsamic vinegar, Thyme and Garlic Granules. Leave to cool.
• Melt the remaining butter. Unroll the pastry sheets and cut each one into four. In a patty tin, layer two quarters on top of each other, brushing lightly with butter between the sheets and on top.
• Spoon 1/4 of the onions into the centre and set aside.
• Repeat with the remaining pastry and onions to make 4 tarts. Place a slice of cheese on top of the onions on each tart. Lightly brush the edges of the pastry with butter.
• Chill for 30 minutes. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the cheese is melting. Serve with a few salad leaves.

MUSHROOM-AND-GOAT-CHEESE PURSES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium. Add shallots, garlic, and thyme and cook, stirring, until shallots are translucent, 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper; cook until mushrooms are tender and any liquid has evaporated, 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then stir in goat cheese.
• Lay 1 sheet phyllo on a work surface and lightly brush with melted butter. (Keep extra phyllo covered while you work.) Stack 3 more sheets on top, brushing each with butter. Cut stack into 12 squares. Repeat with remaining 4 sheets and more butter to make 24 squares total.
• Top each square with 1 tablespoon mushroom mixture. Gather and pinch phyllo around mushroom mixture to form purses with ruffled tops. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

GOAT CHEESE WRAPPED IN PHYLLO

Steps:

• Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Add onions and sugar; cook, stirring often, 30 minutes or until caramel colored.
• Add vinegar and honey; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened.
• Stir in thyme.
• Stack phyllo, coating each layer with cooking spray.
• Cut into 6 (5 inch) squares and spoon onion mixture evenly onto center of phyllo squares.
• Top evenly with goat cheese.
• Lift corners and twist together.
• Place packets on a lightly greased baking sheet and lightly spray each packet with cooking spray.
• Bake at 375°F for 12 minutes or until golden.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND GOAT CHEESE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. and butter a baking sheet. Cut onion into very thin slices. In a heavy skillet heat butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until golden. Add water and deglaze skillet, scraping up any brown bits and cooking until water is evaporated. Stir in thyme and cook mixture until onion is deep golden.
• While onion is cooking, cutting lengthwise along a fold line, cut off one third of pastry sheet, about 10 by 3 inches, and reserve remaining pastry for another use. Halve pastry strip crosswise and transfer pieces to baking sheet. Prick pastry all over with a fork and bake in middle of oven until deep golden, about 12 minutes. Transfer a pastry piece with a spatula to each of 2 plates and immediately press down centers to form an indentation for goat cheese and onion. Spread goat cheese in middle of pastry pieces and top with caramelized onion.
• Garnish tarts with fresh thyme sprigs and serve immediately.

MUSHROOM AND GOAT CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until soft and dry, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to skillet, then shallot. Sauté until shallot is soft, about 4 minutes longer. Add nutmeg. Season mushroom filling with salt and pepper. Cool.
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out puff pastry onto lightly floured surface to 12x15-inch rectangle. Cut one 12x5-inch rectangle, two 11x1/2-inch strips and two 5x1/2-inch strips from pastry. Place rectangle on prepared baking sheet. Pierce all over with fork. Using pastry brush, brush all strips with egg. Place short strips, egg side down, atop ends of pastry to form raised crust edge; place long strips, egg side down, atop long sides of pastry. (Mushroom filling and tart shell can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake tart shell until golden, about 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature. Spread cheese evenly over bottom of hot tart shell. Top with mushrooms. Sprinkle with thyme, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with cream. Bake until heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.