I actually made this recipe more than 2 weeks ago but life has been so very hectic and I am super behind on posting recipes. We were in NYC last weekend for the Renegade Craft Fair so I made this the weekend before we left, since I knew life would be crazy and it would make for some very lovely leftovers. For some reason I have been dreaming of making a gluten-free spring tart for some time now. I literally could see how I wanted it to look and taste all the flavors I had envisioned. I really wanted it to incorporate all things spring. I recalled a tart shell recipe in Gluten Free Girl and The Chef’s newest book, so I decided for my first attempt at a tart I couldn’t go wrong with one of Shauna’s recipes, they are always so wonderfully created, with each measurement precise and every ingredient well thought-out. It’s so impressive. I once again weighed my flours instead of measuring, which has always yielded such perfect results for me. One of the things I love the most about this tart recipe is how few ingredients there are, it is so simple.

The flavors from the fresh herbs in the tart were incredible,so refreshing and light, so spring. The fresh peas burst with flavor in each bite and the crust was absolutely to die for. NOT KIDDING. It was flaky, light, crusty and browned, if I hadn’t made it myself I would have sworn some one was fooling me and I was eating a gluten-laced crust. Besides being delicious this tart was quite easy to put together and was great for leftovers. We had it for both dinners and breakfasts. This would actually be quite perfect for a brunch where you really want to impress people, but don’t wish to spend all morning in the kitchen. You could actually prepare the tart dough the night before and pull it out of the refrigerator that morning. Simple!

Now that I experimented with and LOVE this tart recipe, I plan to have all kinds of fun with it. I cannot wait to play with both sweet and savory tart recipes now.

Gluten-Free Pea and Goat Cheese Tart with Fresh Herbs
serves 8-10

Tart Shell
via Gluten Free Girl and The Chef – A Love Story

1/2 cup (63.5g) sorghum flour
1/2 cup (60g) tapioca flour
1/2 cup (96g) potato starch
1/2 cup (102g) sweet rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) frozen organic butter
1 large local farm fresh brown egg
1/4 cup of ice cold water

(if making a sweet tart, instead of savory, include 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon)

Sift the sorghum flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, and sweet rice flour into a large bowl. Stir in the salt (sugar and cinnamon if making a sweet tart). Sift into another bowl.

Grate the frozen butter directly into the dry ingredients. The butter will fall into the flours in soft swirls and start to melt in as soon as you stir. Work with your hands to mix everything, until the dough feels like cornmeal or large pieces of sand.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water together with a fork. Make a well in the center of the flours. Stir in the liquid, working from the inside out. Feeling the dough for soft suppleness, instead of stiffness or sogginess. Feel free to use your hands at the end.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour, or overnight if possible.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter and flour an 11-inch tart shell, I used sweet rice flour as the original recipe suggested. Pull the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature, about 1 hour.

Roll out the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper, to the approximate shape of the tart pan. (this way you don’t have to flour your countertop and add more flour to the dough).If the dough falls apart or breaks a bit, don’t worry – there is no danger of the crust becoming tough by overworking it, which can happen with gluten dough. Press the dough into the pie pan and repair it that way.

Place the tart shell into the freezer until the crust is frozen, approximately 1 hour.

Butter a piece of aluminum foil approximately the size of the pie crust. Place it butter side down, onto the tart crust and fit snuggly against the sides. Bake pressing down any puffed up spots with a spoon until the shell has a good color, about 15 minutes. The tart should look and feel flaky, rather than sticky. Prepare the filling while the tart is blind baking.

Pea and Goat Cheese Filling

3 cups fresh (or frozen) peas
3 local farm fresh brown eggs
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
1/2 cup organic half and half
1 1/2 cups organic whole fat milk
6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Add the peas to a small saucepan of boiling salted water with a pinch of salt, cook for 3-4 minutes until tender, do not overcook, you don’t want mushy peas. It may take less time for frozen peas, than fresh. Drain, cool slightly, then puree half of the peas in a food processor until smooth. Transfer both the pureed and whole peas to a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, mint, chives, half and half and milk. Beat well with a spoon to combine, then stir in approximately three-quarters of the goat’s cheese. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Once the tart shell has been adequately blind-baked, pour the filling into the shell, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. My tart shell was very full, so be careful transporting, you may also find you want a cookie sheet on the oven rack below if you think it may boil over at all. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the filling is completely set. Allow the tart to cool for at least 30 minutes, top with fresh chives and/or fresh mint, serve while still warm.