ko.pairings
As beautiful as it is tasty. This Gluten Free Goat Cheese and Beet Rose Tartlet is a perfect for any party, afternoon tea or a rainy Tuesday. I even present a vegan option. Try it, you know you want it.
I created this Gluten Free Goat Cheese and Beet Rose Tartlet in the Rose Garden in Balboa Park, San Diego. I was enjoying the sun and walked over to the rose garden. It is a beautiful place where they have all different kinds of roses. I learned from my Dad it is incredibly important to stop and smell the roses, so I always do. And I am happy I did because these roses were incredible fragrant! And like I always do I started thinking about food. I smelled a variety of roses and was thinking well raspberry and rose would work well together. And then I smelled something earthy and it worked with the fresh scent of the rose.
I immediately thought, beet has to work with raspberry and rose! And thus the idea for this Gluten Free Goat Cheese and Beet Rose Tartlet cocktail pairing was formed. The Rose Goes to the Clover Club cocktail is perfect for this food! The goat cheese came later because I knew that beet and goat cheese is an amazing combination. I also figured the tangy goat cheese would balance the rose and raspberry in the cocktail. White beans were added to make this a more hearty tartlet.
I love making tartlets. They are really easy to make gluten free because you don’t need gluten in a tart crust. Yes you need binder but overwork the dough and it becomes tough. Without the gluten you can get a crunchy tartlet. Plus the presentation is so dang cute, it makes a great treat! I also LOVE me some tea time and these make perfect little additions to afternoon tea. This would also make a perfect dish to impress a date on Valentine’s Day. So make this for your date, make this for yourself, but however you do it make this Gluten Free Goat Cheese and Beet Rose Tartlet and serve it with Rose Goes to the Clover Club.
Gluten Free Goat Cheese and Beet Rose Tartlet Recipe Notes & Substitutions
Crust– Typically when I make gluten free baked goods I blend my own flours. Often I’ll have upwards of 7 different ingredients in the recipe and that is just the flour. I enjoy doing this because I have more control over the results. However, I realize most other people don’t want to deal with it. So I used a gluten free flour blend for this, and it worked really well! TO brown the crust more, substitute 2 tbsp of flour for 2 tbsp of almond flour. Almond flour helps gluten free crusts brown.
Flax Egg– Feel free to use a regular egg for this. At the time I was working with this recipe, I didn’t have any eggs. So I opted for a flax egg. Flax egg is a combination of flax meal and water. When hydrated the flax meal gels and helps bind baked goods. It is one of the many vegan egg substitutes for baking and works well here. As a bonus it adds more fiber, and we all could use more fiber in our diets.
Goat Cheese– Use regular or herbed goat cheese for this. I get what is on sale and use that. Honey goat cheese would work well in this. But stay away from holiday seasonal or spiced or fruity flavors like blueberry.
White Beans– I used Great Northern Beans because that is what I had. Cannelloni beans would also work, same with garbanzo beans. Black beans would likely work but the color would be less appetizing.
Beets– You can use fresh beets BUT that is far more work to deal with it. So I went with the pre-packaged beets that are cooked and ready to go. You can use canned beets as well, but make sure they are whole not sliced. You want to be able to control the thickness of the beet.
Dairy-Free/Vegan Option– Use vegan butter in the crust and sub vegan cream cheese for the goat cheese.
Gluten Free Goat Cheese and Beet Rose Tartlet
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 tbsp Flax Egg- Flax Meal 2.5 tbsp Water
- 1/2 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1-3 tbsp Ice Cold Water, I used 2
Filling
- 3 tbsp Goat Cheese of choice, see notes for vegan option
- 1/2 cup White Beans, Great northern or Cannelloni
- 1/3 tsp Lemon Zest
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
- Pepper
- Canned or Packaged Beets to top, should be soft!
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 375oF
- Make a flax egg by putting in 1 tbsp flax seed with 2.5 tbsp water and set aside. Add ice cube to 1/2 cup of water and set aside.
- Add the flour to a bowl and mix in the butter either by cutting with a pastry cutter or smooshing the butter between your fingers. You want the butter/flour to look like a crumb topping.
- Add the flax egg and 1 tbsp of water and mix to form a dough. If not holding together add another 1 tbsp of water, gluten free flours absorb a lot of liquid you just don't want it to be sticky. If too sticky add a bit more flour.
- Divide the dough into 4 balls, then press each dough ball into the tartlet pans. Try to make the crust as even as possible and make sure to push the bottom edges of the tartlet dough so it doesn't bunch up here. Place in the freezer to chill the butter for about 5-10 minutes while making the filling.
Make the filling
- Food Processor: Add everything but the beets to a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper. Bowl: Smash the beans in a bowl. Once smashed add the rest of the ingredients and mix to combine. Taste for salt and pepper. NOTE: It may be a bit grainy at this stage, the beans will cook down in the oven have no fear!
- Remove tartlet crusts from the freezer and divide the filling evenly between the crusts. Bake the tartlets for 15 minutes or until the crust pulls away from the tartlet pan and the top of the filling is browning. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Garnish
- While the tartlets are cooling, prep the beets. Using a mandolin or knife cut the beets into thin slices, about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Arrange on the tarts in a rose shape by layering one down and then placing the next slightly on top in a spiral to the center (see picture above). Serve with the cocktail and enjoy!
