Cheese and tomato tart with a herb and poppy seed crust recipe

The crust of this tart has a delicate herby flavour which compliments the filling perfectly. It’s great straight from the oven for a warming meal, or chilled for a summer treat. It would work well sliced up and taken on a picnic or as a filling family meal served hot with a simple green salad. Whatever you decide to do with your tart, it's well worth the effort and don't be scared to make your own pastry if you've never tried before, it's easier than you think and the difference in taste to the shop-bought stuff will mean you'll never go back to ready-rolled!

Ingredients

Crust:

• 125g plain flour
• 75g chilled, cubed butter
• 1tbspn poppy seeds
• 1tspn dried mixed herbs
• 3tbspn cold water

Filling:

• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 150g grated Cheddar

Method

1. You will need a 20cm Flan Dish
   If making pastry:
   
   1. Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz it comes together as a dough.
   2. Turn out onto a floured surface, bring together and knead into a ball, then wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.

   Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C/fan 180°C/ gas mark 6
   To make the tart:
   

   1. Roll out the pastry between two sheets of baking parchment until it is large enough to line the dish. Remove the top sheet of paper and invert the pastry into the dish.
   2. Using a small ball of pastry, press the pastry into the edges of the dish, then trim off the excess around the top of the dish, and prick the base with a fork.
   3. Crunch up and smooth out a piece of baking parchments and line the dish with it. Chill for a further 20 minutes.
   4. Pour baking beads or dried rice into the baking parchments and bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven, remove the beads and paper and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.
   5. Half the tomatoes and arrange over the pastry, then sprinkle the Cheddar over the tomatoes and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve either hot or cold.