Banana Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart

This savory tart is something I threw together with all the odds and ends of a recent farmers’ market haul – herbs, scallions, a few banana peppers, zucchini blossoms, and some goat cheese. All that yellow – that’s me hanging on to summer! I keep pie dough in the freezer, especially this time of year, for impromptu tarts and pies, and because of that, this tart came together in no time. Highly recommend.

Why This Tart is So Simple

This isn’t a custard tart. It’s simply a market tart, where ingredients are piled onto a rolled-out piece of dough and baked once until deeply golden. You don’t have to par-bake the crust, and you don’t have to worry about the filling setting before the crust gets too dark. The process is a lot like making homemade pizza. Add your favorite toppings and bake. I like to eat a wedge of tart like this one alongside a bright, fresh, leafy salad.

Banana Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart: Ingredients

• Banana Peppers: I jump on banana peppers whenever I see them, but they can be tricky to find. They have a little bite and add a fantastic zip to whatever you’re making – tart, pizza, salad, etc. Swap in another pepper you enjoy if banana peppers are elusive. I picked up some gorgeous, mild Cornito Giallo peppers the other day as well – or  even a yellow bell pepper would work! Can you use the pickled banana peppers in jars? Sure! They’ll be tangier than fresh peppers, but equally fun to experiment with on tarts like this one.
• Zucchini Blossoms: Grab a few if you see them. They’re so special and beautiful, and I cut them into ribbon-like flecks here. If you can’t find them, just add another herb you like, or another edible flower – nasturtium or basil flowers would be nice!
• Herbs: I opted for chives and basil, but if you can imagine another herb working well with goat cheese, by all means, go for it.
• Goat cheese: I like using creamy, spreadable cheeses for tarts like this one. Labneh is another favorite in this sort of tart.

Shaping the Tart

The whole goal with a tart like this one is minimal fuss. And this includes shaping. You can bake it in a plan if you like but more often a free-form shape is in order. You can fold over the edges of your dough into a galette shape, or do what I’ve done here – fold the edge of the pie dough onto itself and then do a deep crimp using the thumb and pointer finger on one hand and the pointer finger on the other – see photo above.

I skipped the freezer step on this one (above), and you can see the issue. My crimping lost its definition, but aside from that it was really tasty and hit the lunchtime mark.

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