Recipe for :

This recipe for Vine Tomato, Red Onion and Goats Cheese Tart comes from professional Chef Lee Mexter. Lee has being a chef for thirteen years, working at the Ritz London and the Churchill Intercontinental. Then as a head chef in a restaurant in Leicestershire. He now has his own catering company, Fine Dine In. His company specialises in preparing and serving dinner parties for people in their own homes.

Lee enjoys putting together recipes and as well as publishing them on the web he also writes recipes for a local paper and will soon be writing his own cookery book.

If you want to know more or would like Lee to help you with your dinner party you can find out more from www.fine-dinein.co.uk

This is a delicious vegetarian dish, perfect for those hot summer nights. For some reason non-vegetarians seem to think that because a dish has a vegetarian label that it is sub standard food and that they are missing out on something more exciting. Well taste this dish and you may well be changing your opinion for good.

Ingredients for Vine Tomato, Red Onion and Goats Cheese Tart

500g Vine Cherry Tomatoes
1 Large Red Onion
1 Packet Puff Pastry
4 Slices Goats Cheese
4 tbs Pesto

Olive Oil / Vegetable Oil
Salt
Pepper

How to make Vine Tomato, Red Onion and Goats Cheese Tart

• Cut the tomatoes into halves, and the red onion into rough 2cm squares. Place on an oven tray drizzle over some oil and season with salt and pepper, place to one side.

• Now roll out your puff pastry to approx 1/2 cm thick. Cut out four 6" x 4" rectangles, take a sharp knife and score a rectangle within each of your rectangles of pastry 1cm from the edge.

• Place these onto a greased baking tray, now place both oven trays in the oven for approx 10 minutes on gas mark 6, 200°C.

• Take your pastry cases and push down the middles where you scored the pastry and you will be left with four tart cases, fill with the onion and tomato mixture, place a slice of goat's cheese on top of each one and spoon over the pesto.

• Place the tarts under grill to melt the goat's cheese or if you have a kitchen blowtorch you can use that.

• This can be served with new potatoes and salad or seasonal vegetable.

Tips and Variations:

If goat's cheese is not to your taste, this can be replaced with brie or mozzarella. If you desire a more intense flavour you can add a dash of balsamic vinegar to the tomatoes and onions before baking them, and of course you could fill the tart with other vegetable all together.

This dish can be served using a smaller portion as a starter, and you can create any shapes that you like, I just find that with the rectangles, they look rustic and home-made.

Serves 4

Chef Lee Mexter
www.fine-dinein.co.uk