Rice-crust Tart with Tomato and Goat Cheese

First, apologies for the long delay since the last post. Things have been getting a bit busy lately, so I'll be posting a bit less, but I'm still here and cooking.

Now on to the food: Rice makes for a lovely, crispy, filling tart crust, without all the butter associated with proper pastry crust. Not to mention, it's naturally gluten free! I make all kinds of different tarts with rice, but this particular recipe is modified from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook.
The crispy rice crust is topped with freshly roasted tomatoes, garlic and goat cheese. For the version in the picture I used a bit too much rice, which made it difficult to fill and so less elegant to look at, but still delicious.

Rice-crust Tart with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Ingredients (for one 25cm/10 inch tart, serves 4-6): 

For the rice crust:

- 1 cup brown or white rice (uncooked)

- 1/2 cup (60 grams/2 oz) grated cheddar cheese or similar cheese 

- 1 egg, lightly beaten 

For the filling:

-5-6 small tomatoes or plum/roma tomatoes, cut into halves

-6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

- 1 tbsp olive oil or olive oil spray 

- fresh ground black pepper

- salt 

- fresh thyme and/or chives

- 50 grams/about 2 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled 

- 3 eggs, lightly beaten

- 1/4 cup of milk 

 Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 200C/400 F. Cook the rice in plenty of boiling water until tender (about 20 minutes for white rice, 30-40 minutes for brown). Drain and allow to cool slightly. 

2.  While the rice is cooking, place the tomato halves, cut-side up, on a baking tin. Also place the whole garlic cloves. Lightly brush/spray with olive oil and season with pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, remove from the oven, and allow to cool somewhat. Peel the garlic.

3.  Add the cheese and egg from the crust recipe to the rice and mix well. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. 

4. Lightly grease/oil a pie or quiche tin, 25 cm/10 inch in diameter. Line the bottom and sides of the dish with the rice mixture, to create a crust. Bake the crust in the oven for 15 minutes, then take out.  

5. Reduce oven temperature to 180 C/350F. Arrange the tomato haves and garlic on the crust. Sprinkle the crumbles goat cheese over and between the tomatoes and garlic. 

6. In a bowl, combine the milk and the eggs. Finely chop the herbs and add to the mixture. Season with a bit of salt of and pepper, then pour the mixture over the tart filling. Don't worry if the egg mixture doesn't cover the tomatoes. The dish will still taste great. Bake in the oven for 45 minute to an hour, or until the egg mixture sets.