Golden Beet Tart with Goat Cheese, Purple Basil & Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 0.3 cup balsamic vinegar 
• 2 cup purple and/or basil leaves green loosely packed
• 4 ounce goat cheese fresh softened (such as montrachet)
• 1 pound golden beets 
• 1 pinch kosher salt & freshly cracked pepper black as needed
• 4 tablespoon olive oil divided
• 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese divided grated
• 1 ounce disc extra rich short crust pastry 
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds 
• 1 teaspoon shallots minced
• 2 teaspoon sugar 

Equipment

• frying pan
• baking sheet
• oven
• knife
• baking pan
• aluminum foil
• mandoline
• broiler
• wax paper
• rolling pin

Directions

1. Prepare Extra Rich Short Crust recipe Recipe found HERE Extra Rich Short Pastry. Divide dough in half, shape into 2 discs about 5-inches in diameter and 3/4-inch thick. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days), or freeze up to 1 month.
2. Place balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon Parmesan, poppy seeds, sugar, shallot, and a pinch each kosher salt & pepper in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well. Set vinaigrette aside at least 1 hour for the flavors to come together. Then shake again right before serving.Set oven rack to center position.
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
4. Lay beets onto a large piece of tin foil.
5. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, a pinch each salt & pepper. Enclose completely in foil, creating a tight packet. Move foil-wrapped beets to a baking pan. Roast until tender, about 1 hour (depending on size of beets). Beets are fully cooked when a small sharp knife may be inserted all the way to center with very little resistance. Set aside to cool somewhat, loosely wrapped in the foil. Leave oven on and set to 400 degrees F.Use a lightly floured surface and a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out one disc of the chilled dough to a round a bit bigger 11-inches in diameter a generous 1/8-inch thick. It can be helpful to roll this dough between two sheets of parchment or wax paper if you prefer. Save the other disc of dough for another use. Carefully fold the rolled dough in half and slide it onto rolling pin.
6. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Unfold the dough, laying it perfectly flat on the sheet. Use a 10 to 11-inch dinner plate as a template to cut a perfectly shaped round of dough. Discard trimmings. Prick dough round all over with a fork.
7. Sprinkle top of the dough round with the remaining 1-tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese. Refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.
8. Bake chilled round in heated oven until lightly golden, about 18 minutes.
9. Remove from oven. Set crust aside on a rack to cool, still on baking sheet.When beets are cool enough to handle, slice off root and stem ends. Use your fingers to rub skin off. If skin doesn’t strip away easily, return beets to the oven for another 10 minutes.Once peeled, slice beets into very uniform rounds, about 1/8-inch thick. A mandoline is helpful but not necessary.Turn broiler on.
10. Place baked crust still on its baking sheet in front of you. Starting on outside edge, lay beet slices slightly overlapping in concentric circles. Work clockwise, towards the center until tart is completely covered. Save one particularly nice slice for the very center. You might have extra slices. Season tart lightly with a pinch each salt and pepper.Slice goat cheese into 6 or 7 rounds, placing them on top of beets in an attractive pattern. Move tart to broiler, and brown cheese lightly and the beets begin to curl, about 3 minutes. You may need to rotate pan halfway through to ensure that cheese browns evenly.
11. Garnish tart with fresh basil leaves. Slice and serve with vinaigrette on the side.serves 6 to 8Other crusts choices for this recipe include: Basic Savory Pie Pastry, Cream Cheese Crust, and Gluten Free Savory Pie Crust.