One of my main freelance roles is to create recipes and manage socials for Secretts Milford - a farm shop local to me that’s full of inspiring local produce and a huge array of crops that come straight from the farm itself. It’s been such a pleasure to learn about farming and authentic produce (and the hard work involved in nurturing food from field to fork) and it’s made me even more passionate about driving down food miles, supporting local and eating in season to help small food communities thrive.

Whilst Secretts produce many wonderful crops on the farm, one they don’t have is tomatoes. And when they don’t grow something, they turn to the experts that do - like Isle of Wight Tomatoes. I’ve been working with these tomatoes for a while now - both as a consumer and recipe developer and I have to say, I think they are unrivalled in terms of flavour, character and colour. Not to mention the fact they come in tons of different varieties just begging to be championed in a salad, smooshed into a gazpacho, simmered into a silky pasta sauce or honoured in all of their juicy red glory in a tart. Just like this one.

The beauty of this tart is: it’s ridiculously easy (especially if you use a shop bought shortcrust base) and it’s a real showstopper that you can roll out for weekend feasts in the garden with friends, the rosy red hues contrasting beautifully with a crisp green salad.

If you want to go all in and make the pastry too, it’s really easy. Simply add 250g plain flour to a bowl with 100g of cubed room temperature butter, a pinch of salt and a cpl tbsps milk. Use your fingers to work it into bread crumbs, then tip onto a work surface and work into a ball. Pop in the fridge for ten mins, then roll it out and pop it into a lined tin. You’ll need to blind bake it for 20 minutes first, using baking beans to keep the shape.

INGREDIENTS:

• 300g cherry tomatoes, halved

• 250g soft cheese like goats, ricotta or cream cheese

• 1 tbsp milk

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

• Pre-made & baked shortcrust pastry case

• Cold pressed rapeseed oil (My go to is Mellow Yellow)

• Drizzle of balsamic vinegar

• Sea salt and pepper to season

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Place the soft cheese in a bowl with the milk, lemon juice and zest. Season and mix until smooth.

3. Spoon the cheese mixture into the base of the pastry case. Place the tomatoes on top and drizzle over the balsamic vinegar.

4. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the tomatoes are blistered and the tart is golden. 

5. Sprinkle with microgreens and a drizzle of oil. Cut into slices and serve.