Savoury Apple Tarts with Cheese and Rosemary Pastry
These savoury apple tarts with cheese and rosemary pastry are a delicious twist on the traditional apple tart. Flaky cheesy pastry encases a sweet-sharp filling of sliced apples, wholegrain mustard, honey and apple cider vinegar. Made as four individual tarts in a rustic French galette style, they’re an unusual and rather lovely combination. Quite possible the best apple tarts you’ll taste this season.
When I was down in Cornwall a couple of weeks ago, we picked a load of apples from my mum’s garden. And of course, I bought a box of them back with me, so it’s all things apple at the moment. I made a batch of apple purée and this almond apple cider cake. But I really wanted to create a new apple recipe for you. I did and it’s everything I was hoping for.
Why This Recipe For Savoury Apple Tarts Works
- Delicious balance of flavours – Fruity apples, tangy cider vinegar, punchy wholegrain mustard and sweet honey create a lovely sweet-sharp-savoury filling.
- Flaky savoury pastry – Mature cheddar cheese and rosemary give the wholemeal shortcrust pastry plenty of character and complement the apples beautifully.
- Perfect individual portions – Four little rustic tarts look attractive and are easy to serve, whether for a leisurely lunch or a light supper. They pair well with a leafy green salad or a pile of steamed greens.
- Filling needs little preparation – No pre-cooking the apples or making a separate sauce required.
- Can prepare in advance – Make the pastry and filling ahead of time, then assemble and bake when ready to eat.
Individual Savoury Apple Galettes
Cheese and apple are a well known flavour pairing. The sweetness and acidity of the apple cuts through the cheese’s fat and salt which in turn makes the apple taste sweeter. For these savoury apple tarts, I’ve added mature cheddar cheese to the pastry and used cooking apples for the filling.
Individual tarts make a nice change from one large one, though you could go that way if you prefer. Rather than faff around lining tart tins and making them look tidy, I’ve gone for the French rustic galette style, which is so much easier to make. I love the look of them too.
The wholemeal pastry is beautifully flaky and has a slight nutty flavour as well as a cheesy, herby one. The rosemary adds some gorgeous top notes, but isn’t particularly obtrusive.
As for the filling, it’s a balance of sweet, sharp and savoury. Wholegrain mustard adds interest, both in flavour and looks and honey and cider vinegar work their usual magic. A little melted butter helps to caramelise the apples and give additional flavour.
Serve the galettes straight out of the oven for lunch with a green salad or enjoy them for supper with a side of steamed greens. Either way they make a delicious autumnal meal.
Ingredients, Additions and Substitutions
Apples are very much the star of this show, but what type of apples you use will make a difference to the texture and flavour of these simple savoury apple tarts.
Apples
For these galettes, we need cooking apples or relatively sharp eating apples. They bring a little more acidity to the filling, balancing the sweetness of the honey and complementing the savoury mustard and tangy cider vinegar.
Bramleys are ideal, although I used Cornish cookers, which aren’t overly tart. Don’t go for dessert apples as they’ll make the tarts a little too sweet.
Cooking apples go wonderfully soft, but if you prefer a bit of a bite you’re better off with sharp eating apples such as Granny Smiths.
Cheese
A hard flavoursome nutty cheese like Gruyere is ideal for this recipe. But mature cheddar cheese is always a good bet and that’s what I used.
Dairy
It’s generally better to bake with unsalted butter and then add salt. This is because salted butter generally has a higher water content than unsalted which can affects texture. It also means you have more control over the amount of salt you use.
To bind the dough together, I’ve used kefir. This helps to give the pastry its flaky texture and lovely melt-in-the-mouth quality. Instead of kefir you can use buttermilk or watered down yoghurt.
Flavourings
Apart from the afore mentioned mustard, honey and vinegar needed for the apple dressing, fresh rosemary makes a great addition. Its woody, herby notes help to balance the richness of the buttery, cheesy pastry.
If you prefer the idea of thyme, use that instead.
Wholegrain mustard gives a wonderful savoury punch to the apples, but it also decorates them with its seeds, which makes the filling look more appealing.
You can swap it for hot English mustard or Dijon mustard, if that’s what you have to hand.
I like to add a good pinch of turmeric. It’s brilliant for helping to ease inflammation, but in the quantity use here it’s more about giving the wholemeal pastry an uplift in colour. It’s entirely optional though.
But do add plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
How To Make Savoury Apple Tarts
Making individual tarts in the rustic galette style is relatively easy and can look really appealing. The filling is mostly a matter of coring and slicing apples. There’s no pre-cooking required.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for cooking times, measurements and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Make Pastry
Remove the rosemary needles from the stalks, then finely chop. Grate the cheddar cheese using the large holes of a box grater.
Remove the butter from the fridge, weigh it, then cut it into small cubes.
Place the flour, salt, pepper and turmeric, if using, into a large mixing bowl. Add the finely chopped rosemary. Then add the butter cubes. Either rub them into the flour between your finger tips or pulse in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Add the grated cheese and stir well. I find a round bladed knife is the best tool for making pastry.
Add most of the kefir, but not all as you may not need it. Stir with the aforementioned knife until the mixture starts to come together. If it’s too dry, add the remaining kefir.
Gather the mix up with your hands and form it into a ball of dough. Cover the dough and leave to rest in a cool place for half an hour.
Step 2. Make Filling
Place the vinegar, mustard, honey and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk or stir everything together. Taste test the dressing and adjust the sweet / sour levels by adding more honey or vinegar if needed.
How much honey and vinegar you use will depend on how sour your apples are. I used Cornish cooking apples, which weren’t sweet, but weren’t particularly tart either.
Quarter the apples, core them, but don’t peel. Thinly slice then add to the dressing bowl. Stir the apple slices through the dressing as you go so that the apples don’t oxidise and go brown.
Top Tip – Can swap the vinegar for cider if liked. And the mustard for a hot English or Dijon mustard.
Melt the butter, then pour over the apples and stir well.
Step 3. Assemble
Divide the pastry into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rough circle. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect circles or are a bit rough around the edges. These galettes are meant to look rustic.
Divide the apple slices between the four circles, heaping them in the middle, then spreading them out on the pastry, but leaving a decent sized border around the edge.
Fold the edges of the pastry inward over the apples, leaving the centre open and crimp the pastry as you go.
Brush the pastry edges with milk, then
Step 4. Bake
Transfer the pastries to a large lined baking sheet or two smaller ones.
Place in the centre of a preheated oven. Bake until the apples are soft and the pastry crisp and golden.
Top Tip – To make one large tart rather than four individual ones, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Allow to cool for five minutes, then serve and tuck in.
Lovely with a simple salad of leafy greens for lunch or serve with more substantial sides for an evening meal. Cabbage works particularly well.
Other Apple Recipes You Might Like
- apple & raisin pancakes with chocolate sauce
- apple hazelnut cake with sultanas & chocolate chips
- blackberry & apple crumble bars
- mulled cider or apple juice
- triple apple cake (low fat)
- waldorf salad
I actually have heaps of apple recipes here on Tin and Thyme, so if none of the above do it for you, click on the link and I’m pretty sure you’ll find something you want to make.
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these savoury apple tarts, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for using apples?
Please rate the recipe too. And do tag me @choclette8 on Instagram with your images, I really enjoy seeing your take on my recipes.
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If you’d like more pastry recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Savoury Apple Tarts with Cheese and Rosemary Pastry
Ingredients
Pastry
- 200 g wholemeal spelt flour
- 1 pinch fine sea or rock salt
- ⅛ tsp ground turmeric (optional)
- good grinding of black pepper
- 120 g unsalted butter fridge cold and cubed
- 2 sprigs rosemary needles removed and finely chopped
- 80 g mature cheddar cheese grated
- 4-5 tbsp kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt
- milk for brushing
Filling
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp runny honey
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 500 g apples cooking or tart eating apples, but not sweet ones (I used 3 large Cornish cookers)
- 15 g unsalted butter melted
Instructions
Pastry
- Place the flour, salt, pepper and turmeric, if using, into a large mixing bowl. Then add the butter cubes and either rub them into the flour between your finger tips or pulse in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.200 g wholemeal spelt flour, 1 pinch fine sea or rock salt, ⅛ tsp ground turmeric, good grinding of black pepper, 120 g unsalted butter
- Add the grated cheese and finely chopped rosemary, then stir well.2 sprigs rosemary, 80 g mature cheddar cheese
- Add 4 tbsp of kefir and stir with a knife until the mixture starts to come together. If it’s too dry, add another tbsp of kefir. Gather the dough up with your hands and form it into a ball.4-5 tbsp kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt
- Cover and leave to rest in a cool place for ½ hour.
Filling
- Place the vinegar, mustard, honey and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk or stir everything together. Taste test the dressing and adjust the sweet / sour levels by adding more honey or vinegar if needed.1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard, 1 tbsp runny honey, 1 pinch sea salt
- Quarter the apples, core them, but don’t peel. Thinly slice then add to the dressing bowl. Stir the apple slices through the dressing as you go so that the apples don’t oxidise and go brown.500 g apples
- Add the butter and stir well.15 g unsalted butter
Assembly
- Set the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan, 400℉, Gas 6).
- Divide the pastry into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rough circle to a thickness of about 4mm (0.15 inch). Don’t worry if they’re not perfect circles or are a bit rough around the edges. These galettes are meant to look rustic.
- Divide the apple slices between the four circles, heaping them in the middle, then spreading them out to about 2-3 cm (1 inch) from the edge.
- Fold the edges of the pastry inward over the apples, leaving the centre open and tucking the pastry in as you go.
- Brush the pastry edges with milk, then place in the centre of the preheated oven. Bake for 25 minutes by which time the apples should be soft and the pastry crisp and golden.
- Allow to cool for five minutes, then serve and tuck in.