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Cost: $ $ $ $ $

Difficulty: • • • • •

Time: 40 mins

Serves: 6

The secret ingredient sounds crazy, but it really works!
A very simple puff-pastry tart that's bursting with great flavours of ripe tomato, basil, sharp tangy goat's cheese and that all important mystery ingredient - the Mara Dulse seaweed! It's used here as a seasoning, so you don't really taste the seaweed as a vegetable in its own right, but it works in the background and adds a real depth of umami flavour that takes this tart from the realm of so-so to the utterly unctuous. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, you could of course make your own puff pastry, but the store bought ones are so good now I'm the first to admit I just can't tell the difference (not the case with shortcrust though...!). The tart can be served warm or cold, and goes great with some buttered, skin-on boiled baby potatoes and a tangy coleslaw, or some crusty bread and a green salad.

Posted by Chef Smee from London, United Kingdom • Published 25th May 2015 • See Chef Smee's 11 projects »

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Chef Smee published their project Tomato And Basil Tart With Mara Seaweed Seasoning 25 May 10:12

Step 1
First of all, Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a large bowl, toss the tomato slices with the seaweed flakes, and leave them to rest for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bash the garlic, basil and a generous pinch of salt and black pepper in a pestle and mortar. Once it's a green paste, mix it into the soft cheese.
Step 2
Roll out the pastry to a large rectangle, about 30x 20cm, and lay this carefully on a baking sheet large enough to house it. Then, with a spatula, spread the cheese evenly all over, leaving a small border of pastry at the sides. Roll up/tuck in these sides just a little, to provide a 'frame' for the tomatoes.
Step 3
Scatter the tomatoes and a little of their juices evenly all over the top (you'll probably have quite a lot of juices, but don't use them all as this could make the base go soggy, but do save the juices) and drizzle with extra black pepper and olive oil. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the tomatoes have shriveled and charred a little, and the pastry is golden.
Step 4
Leave the tart to cool for 10 minutes, then slice up into squares. Just before serving you can add a few more of the juices if you wish, else mix them with a little olive oil and serve some crusty bread on the side.