The sweetness of the roasted carrots blends perfectly with the tang of creamy blue cheese and earthiness of fresh thyme in this delicious and super easy carrot tart. Perfect for lunch or supper or even as a side dish.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- The carrots are both sweet and savoury which gives real interest to this simple tart
- Using frozen puff pastry (go ready rolled if you have it) makes this carrot tart a breeze to make
- Roasting the carrots brings out their amazing flavour but by roasting the carrots first you release their juices so it means that when you put them on your pie pastry they won’t make it soggy – nobody wants the dreaded soggy bottom!
- If you can get these gorgeous multi coloured carrots then this simple carrot tart turns into a show stopper.
Ingredients for roasted carrot tart
- Carrots are the starts of this tart, you can use any type of carrots that you like but try to keep them to the same size. I’ve used these coloured carrots for maximum impact but any carrots will do here.
- Onion and garlic add depth and savouriness to the sweetness of the carrots.
- Cheese – oh the joys of cheese! I’ve used a combination of cream cheese and blue cheese in this tart. The blue cheese has that salty savoury tang that offsets the sweetness of the carrots perfectly. Adding in some cream cheese keeps it from being too sharp and smooths things into creamy perfection.
- Thyme is my herb of choice here. Thyme and carrots are best buddies and I used fresh thyme but you can use dried herbs here too.
- Ready rolled puff pastry. Don’t you just love an easy recipe and using this puff pastry makes any tart a joy to make.
How to make carrot tart
This really is a simple 2 step recipe, the filling then the tart itself.
First you want to roast the carrots with the thyme to bring out that gorgeous sweetness and flavour. It also releases the juices so you get a crisper tart.
Meanwhile saute the onion and garlic till soft and just taking on a little golden colouring. Remove from the heat and add the cream cheese and blue cheese to the mix. Season the tart filling to taste.
Then it’s simply a case of setting out your pastry base and spooning the cheese mixture all over leaving a border to fold over so your carrot tart will have a frame to hold it all together.
Lay the roasted carrots on top of the cheese mixture and sprinkle on a little more fresh thyme.
Bake in a preheated oven till golden.
Alternative ingredients and tips
This tart works equally well with parsnips and butternut squash instead of the carrots I’ve used here.
If you want some extra sweetness drizzle your carrot tart with a little runny honey before baking.
Use any cheese that you fancy here, I like the combination of blue cheese with carrots but feta works well as does camembert or brie. Goat’s cheese is another good choice for this tart. I wouldn’t really go for cheddar here.
While I have used thyme you can use rosemary instead or maybe a little sage. Go easy on the sage though as it has a very powerful flavour.
Notes on using herbs
If you are using dried herbs use half the quantity as you would for fresh herbs. This is because when herbs are dried all their flavour is intensified. If you used the same quantity of dried as fresh herbs you could well over-power your dish.
Using carrot tops
If you have been lucky enough to get carrots with their lovely fluffy green leaves on them don’t throw this out. Make Carrot Top Pesto!
How to serve this tart
Serve this carrot tart warm for best results.
This carrot and thyme tart will serve two with a nice green salad on the side as a light lunch. Or add a baked potato or some simple little boiled potatoes to make a more substantial meal.
This is also great sliced into smaller pieces for party nibbles.
Carrot and thyme tart is also perfect for picnics too.
Looking for more super carrot recipes to try? Then check these out before you go;
Spiced Carrot & Cauliflower Soup
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Roasted Carrot Thyme And Blue Cheese Tart
Ingredients
- 225 g medium thin carrots
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 175 g ready rolled puff pastry
- 1 tbsp finely sliced onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tbsp blue cheese crumbled
- 3 tbsp cream cheese
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C
- place the carrots with olive oil seasoning and thyme in a small baking dish and bake for 12 minutes, remove and allow to cool
- saute the onion for 5 minutes in oil then add garlic for 1 minute
- mix the cream cheese and blue cheese with garlic, seasoning and sauted onion and garlic and spread on the pastry leaving a 2cm border
- Place the carrots in a row on top of the cheese mixture and roll over the edges of the pastry to form small wall and brush exposed pastry with milk to glaze
- bake the tart for 15 minutes till goldenSprinkle with some more fresh thyme to serve
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