LÍA's Courgette and Pesto Tart with Goat’s Cheese

LÍA's Courgette and Pesto Tart with Goat’s Cheese

A light, flavourful tart combining crisp, golden puff pastry with creamy goat’s cheese, fresh courgette, sweet cherry tomatoes and fragrant basil pesto. Finished with a drizzle of LIÁ extra virgin olive oil.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25–30 minutes

Ingredients

For the tarts

  • 60g goat’s cheese 

  • Zest and juice of ½–1 lemon, to taste

  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

  • 2 small courgettes, thinly sliced

  • 16 cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced

  • 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, cut into 4 equal portions

  • LIÁ extra virgin olive oil, for brushing

  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the basil pesto

  • 3 tablespoons LIÁ extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

  • 1 garlic clove, peeled

Method

  1. Preheat the oven. Heat to 220°C (200°C fan) / 425°F. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

  2. Prepare the goat’s cheese mixture. In a bowl, combine the goat’s cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh thyme. Mix until smooth and creamy.

  3. Assemble the tarts. Place the four pastry portions on the prepared baking tray. Spread each with the goat’s cheese mixture, leaving a border of approximately 1 cm around the edges.

  4. Add the vegetables. Arrange the thinly sliced courgettes and cherry tomatoes over the cheese mixture, keeping the pastry borders clear. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

  5. Brush and bake. Lightly brush the exposed pastry edges with LIÁ extra virgin olive oil. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed, golden and crisp and the vegetables are tender.

  6. Make the pesto. While the tarts bake, blend the basil, garlic and LIÁ extra virgin olive oil until smooth. If needed, add a little more olive oil to achieve your preferred consistency. Season to taste.

  7. Finish and serve. Remove the tarts from the oven and spoon small amounts of fresh basil pesto over each one. Finish with a twist of black pepper and serve warm.

Serving suggestion

Serve alongside a fresh green salad for a light lunch, or offer as a starter dinner. A final drizzle of LIÁ extra virgin olive oil adds a fresh, herbaceous finish.

A note on the olive oil

LÍA extra virgin olive oil brings a freshness and depth to this recipe, complementing the creamy goat’s cheese, sweet tomatoes and aromatic basil. Using the same quality olive oil in the pesto helps tie all the flavours together.

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