So I accidentally deleted some of the photos I took of the whole uncooked beets, so please enjoy this picture of the final product to start us off. Now close your eyes and imagine three beautiful beets covered in dirt. Farm fresh!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Now give the beets a good rinse and drizzle them with a bit of olive oil. Wrap those babies up in tin foil and place them in a baking dish.

Roast in the oven for 45 minutes-1 hour. The timing will depend on how big your beets are, so check them by piercing them with a fork. Once the fork can easily pierce the beet, it’s time!

When the beets are cool enough to handle, rub them with a moistened towel. Since they’ve been roasted, the skin should peel right off. Use a peeler or paring knife on any stubborn bits of skin. Trim the ends and cut the beets into thin slices.

BEWARE: Your kitchen will look like a crime scene after this recipe. Beets stain everything, but don’t worry. It’s worth the mess!

Set the beets aside and start on the puff pastry. Puff pasty is so decadent and all your friends will be like, “ooooh! ahhhh! fancy!” but it’s basically as easy as making a frozen pizza.

Using a very professional and precise measurement device (see below- I believe you can purchase one of these from the William Sonoma website or sky mall catalogs), cut 6 circles out of the dough. Save the rest for another recipe!

Make an indent of a smaller circle on each of the pastry rounds and score the inner circle with little dots. This will allow some of the steam to escape during baking, so the outside crust will rise a bit more than the inner tart.

Bake for 10 minutes then remove from the oven to fill. How handy dandy is it that the oven stays at the same temp for the beets and the tarts!? Some recipes are just meant to be.

Fill the tarts with a few dabs of goat cheese and a beet slice. Repeat to make another layer and season with salt and pepper. Beets and goat cheese are trendy millennials’ PB&J. When I got beets from Hollygrove market I knew goat cheese was inevitably invited to the party, and these tarts are the perfect vehicle for all the earthy, creamy flava flave.

Slide them into the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

While the tarts are baking, prepare the arugula. We’re used to seeing baby arugula in stores and restaurants, but the arugula I got in my farm box was big arugula…adult arugula…mature arugula?

I plucked the leaves off of the stems so they would fit on the little tarts. Bonus: I got to snack on the stems while the tarts baked. Dress the leaves with just a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. The bite of the arugula and acidity of the vinegar are a perfect match to cut through the richness of the cheese and pastry.

Top the finished tarts with a few more dabs of goat cheese because YOLO amiright? Then a few leaves of arugula.

Bon Appétart!

 

Beet and Goat Cheese Tarts

Serves: 6

Level: Easy

Ingredients

3 beets, rinsed

2 oz goat cheese

2 cups arugula

1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed at room temperature

2 T olive oil

2 T balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle olive oil on each beet and wrap them individually in tin foil. Roast for 45 minutes-1 hour. While the beets roast, place the puff pastry on a baking sheet and cut out 6 circles. Cut another circle 1/4 of an inch into each round. Poke the inner circle with a fork or knife. Set aside. Remove beets from the tin foil and let cool. Rub the beets with a moist towel until skin is removed. Trim the ends and cut into thin slices. Bake the pastry circles for 10 minutes. Fill the tarts with a layer of goat cheese, a beet round, then another layer of goat cheese and another slice of beet. Season with salt and pepper and bake for another 15 minutes. Dress the arugula with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Top the finished tarts with more goat cheese and a bit of arugula. Enjoy!