Tomato and Curd Cheese Tart

I think this is the first time I've made rough puff pastry and it was actually fairly easy. Instead of a big pie I halved the recipe and made four smaller ones. They were delicious, the combination of the tomatoes and curd cheese was really good.

Tomato and Curd Cheese Tart (from Good Food Magazine September 2008)
(Serves 8)

200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
100g butter, cold and cubed
50g mature cheddar, grated
small bunch basil or flat-leaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped
175g curd cheese
8 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
a little olive oil, to serve
handful mixed soft herbs, (we used chervil, mint and flat-leaf parsley), to serve

Put the flour, salt and butter into a food processor and whizz very roughly – you want the butter to stay in fairly large clumps. Tip into a bowl, stir in 66g of the cheddar, then bring together to a soft dough with about 100ml ice-cold water – add a little more if you need to. Knead quickly, then wrap in cling film and put into the fridge for at least 30 mins. Mix the chopped basil or parsley and remaining cheddar into the curd cheese, then season.

Dust the work surface with flour, then roll out the pastry to a long rectangle. Fold the top third down, then the bottom third up. Roll, then fold three more times to build up the flaky layers. Put back into the fridge for at least 10 mins.

Heat oven to 220C. Roll the pastry until large enough to cut a round about 27cm across (use a dinner plate as a guide). Lift the pastry onto a lightly floured baking tray, prick with a fork, then bake for 15 mins. Set aside to cool for a few mins.

Spread the herby curd cheese over the pastry, taking it almost to the edge, then arrange the tomatoes on top in overlapping circles. Season and bake for 15 mins until the pastry is golden around the edges. Turn oven down to 150C and bake for another 30-40 mins until the tomatoes look quite dried out and the pastry is cooked through. To serve, let the tart cool a little, then drizzle with olive oil. Toss the herbs with more oil, then pile in the middle of the tart to serve.