This goat cheese tomato sausage tart is a great appetizer or light meal paired with a glass of wine. Indulgent and delicious!
I grew up about 25 minutes south of where we currently live. However, I played on a club soccer team from the town we currently live in for 3 years in high school. Every day we had practice, I’d get in the car and head “upstate”.
Upstate is a funny term when you live in New York. People from Manhattan consider anything outside the realm of the subway system to be upstate. Long Islanders think the Bronx is upstate. And then there’s the suburbanites living just north of NYC (me) that pretty much put Poughkeepsie as the line of division between “upstate” and “downstate”.
As a teenager, I would quickly correct anyone attempting to label me as an “upstater” as if living among farms, cows, apple orchards and places you could actually still see land for sale rather than cookie cutter subdivisions on every road was the worst offense possible.
Then I grew up and realized that being able to buy grass fed beef, fresh eggs and goat cheese all from places within 10 minutes of my house is actually pretty cool.
The lower taxes aren’t so bad either.
When I got the opportunity to talk about my place worth preserving with Frei Brothers Reserve and Kitchen PLAY, I immediately thought of my favorite farm down the road.
I’m not sure what I’m more in love with at this place, the goats themselves or the delicious cheese they make.
Goats are hysterical if you’ve never been up close and personal with them. In a 2 minute time span of my most recent visit, one was pawing at the fence like she was trying to open it, sticking her head through the opening and nose-butting my phone, licking the lollipop right out of the hand of the toddler standing next to me while her partner stood on top of a dog-house-looking structure in the middle of the pen like there was absolutely nothing odd about that.
I kinda want one.
I grabbed some of their fresh goat cheese after my quick visit with the goats knowing I wanted to showcase it in a tart to go along with the Frei Brothers Reserve Sauvignon Blanc.
Combined with a quick spinach pesto, homegrown tomatoes and a little bit of sweet Italian sausage dotted on top, this is the perfect wine-sipping appetizer or light meal.
The goat cheese tomato sausage tart is tangy from the goat cheese while the sausage sweetens it up a bit and it goes along really well with the light, fruity brightness of the wine.
It’s one of the best ways I can think of to indulge in summer tomatoes while they last.
Try this grilled eggplant caprese or this parmesan tomato gratin for two other delicious summer appetizers as well!
Goat Cheese Tomato Sausage Tart
Ingredients
- 1 bunch spinach, washed
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but still chilled
- 3 ounces goat cheese
- 2 large tomatoes, sliced
- Handful cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 link sweet Italian sausage
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the spinach, garlic, olives and sundried tomatoes in a food processor. Process until finely chopped. With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Scrape down the sides and process again for a few seconds until a pesto/paste forms. Set aside.
- Lay the puff pastry sheet on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Using a rolling pin, roll it out a few times to flatten and even it out.
- Spread the pesto (you'll probably have excess pesto left over) on the puff pastry covering the entire sheet except a 1 inch border around the sides.
- Dot the goat cheese on top of the pesto.
- Layer the tomato slices on top of the goat cheese in rows. Use the cherry tomatoes in between the larger slices.
- Lastly, crumble the sausage on top of the tomatoes and season the whole thing with salt and pepper.
- Bake for about 20-22 minutes until puffed and golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*This is a sponsored post on behalf of Frei Brothers Reserve. All content and opinions are my
own.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Looks fantastic, and I happen to have a single sheet of puff pastry & a lonely sausage in the freezer, waiting to be used up, so perfect for dinner later this week. Quick question: did you pre-cook the sausage, or crumble it raw before baking the tart? Thanks!
I crumbled it raw and it cooked up perfectly in the oven.
Goats are hilarious! And this tart is pretty… even if it is covered in icky tomatoes ;) lol
Goats really are funny! I remember at the one farm I’m walking past the area with a big group of goats and all of a sudden, I realized one of the baby goats was outside the fence! It’s like wait a minute… haha Goat cheese is a big favorite with me. Great addition to this tart!