The appropriate welcome
Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 12:50PM 
November. It's been here for twelve days already, and I've yet to give it the appropriate welcome.
You'll find it standing just outside my door, arms laden with luggage full of fallen leaves most likely, softly tap-tap-tapping its foot as its waits with reserved impatience. Inside I'm running around frantically, with my hair in rollers and dirty dishes in the sink, not yet ready for its visit.
Those dirty dishes were for good reason I assure you, I've been making apple tartlets. Not just sweet but savoury-ish, with a mound of goat's cheese the tuffet for thin slices of apple, enamelled bronze by thyme-infused honey. They are mostly a task of assemblage, with little to do but cut, stack, brush and bake, but the opportunity to get out a rolling pin makes it seems as though you've done a some cooking. A fine dusting of flour across the hands always makes me feel I've been productive.
The tartlets came from the oven raised grandly at the edges, such is the miracle that is puff pastry. The layers of apple were curled and tanned lightly at their tips, finally adorned with ivory petals of Grana Padano. Though I'd intended something autumnal in spirit, this was almost downright festive. November, consider yourself greeted.
We tucked into these for a mid-afternoon snack, as is, full stop. Nothing more was needed. But if you were so moved, a crunchy pile of lightly-dressed bitter greens would be suggested my addition alongside.
But then, that would mean more dishes.
Apple and Goat's Cheese Tartlets with Thyme Honey
A more savoury spin on a recipe from Bon Appetit. Even though I have scaled back the original quantities of honey and butter, I still had more than enough - in fact, there was an excess. If I had to offer a guess, I would think that 1/3 cup of honey and 1 tablespoon of butter would suffice, but I have included generous quantities below in the case of the desire of a more luscious result.
Ingredients
1 package of frozen puff pastry (2 blocks or 2 sheets), thawed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup dark honey, divided
2-3 small thyme sprigs, plus more for garnish
kosher salt
1/2 cup (around 4 ounces) fresh goat's cheese at room temperature
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white balsamic
3 small Empire apples
Shaved Grana Padano to serve
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. If not ready-rolled, roll out the puff pastry block to a 9-inch square on a lightly-floured work surface. Use a 4-inch cookie cutter or ring to cut 4 rounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the second block, cutting 8 rounds total. Using the blunt end of a 3-inch cutter firmly press into each round, without going through, to form a border. Freeze for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
Preheat an oven to 375°F (190°C). In a small saucepan over low heat, start to melt the butter. Once it's about halfway there, add 1/2 of the honey, the thyme sprigs and a pinch of salt. Stir gently until all the butter has melted and the honey is warm. Remove from the heat and leave the honey to steep while you get everything else ready.
In a small bowl, stir together the goat's cheese and the vinegar, seasoning again with a pinch of salt. Peel, halve and core the apples, then cut into 1/8-inch slices. Remove the chilled pastry from the freezer and use an offset spatula to spread a scant 2 teaspoons of the cheese mixture within the demarcated border. Top the cheese with a stack of apple slices. Brush the honey butter mixture over the apples and sparingly on pastry edge.
Bake in the preheated oven until the apples are soft and the pastry is golden and puffed, around 30 minutes. To serve, drizzle the tartlets with the reserved honey, the shaved Grana Padano, and some picked thyme leaves. Serve either warm or at room temperature.
Makes 8.
Notes:
• In the photograph, I toasted a meager 4 or 5 pecans and (as my Grandmother would say) "bashed the blazes out of them" for a final, crunchy flourish. They're not essential, but make a fine addition. Walnuts would be tasty too. If you have them on hand, bash away.
• Although I have not tried it, I am tempted to substitute a blue cheese for the goat's cheese, omitting the vinegar.
apple, cheese, chevre, fall, goat's cheese, honey, lunch, puff pastry, recipe, tartlet, vegetarian 
Reader Comments (48)
beautiful photos. can't wait to try these. happy weekend.
I NEED to make these ASAP. I bet they'd be great with pears too. Mmm.
Beautiful post - I love the image of November with an armful of leaves. And the tarts look delicious; I'll be making these soon.
Magical pictures. They sound wonderfully delicious.
Tara, your photos never cease to inspire. I've never paired goat's cheese with apple and am quite intrigued by the combination actually...
Those tarts could not look lovelier! I want them savory for lunch and sweet for dessert.
This looks quite good. I have puff pastry in the freezer---I spend way too much time pondering how best to use it. This recipe might be the solution...
this looks and sounds amazing! lovely recipe and gorgeously photographed! yum.
What a fabulous recipe! I love the combination of goat cheese, apples, honey and thyme. Beautiful photos and I'd say you welcomed November perfectly.
there are few times i see a recipe where the puff pastry entices, and this in fact has got to be the most swoon worthy use I've ever seen! I love your adjustments, it looks just perfect.
Tara,
Your blog is so
beautiful....thanks for stopping by Farmhouse Kitchen.
and those little butter cookies taste pretty good too.....
Best,
Kary
Oh so lovely! Apples + cheese + pastry = heaven.
shari, thank you. looking forward to trying your galette. happy weekend to you too.
arugulove, pears would be lovely, especially with gruyère in place of the Grana Padano.
zested, I envision November wearing a lot of tweed.
Thank you Whitney.
The Purple Foodie, the original recipe had quite a lot of goat's cheese and honey, which I think would give an almost cheesecake effect. This is much more restrained, with the tang of the cheese offsetting the sweet fruit.
Allyson, they could be served either way - they are sort of the ingredients of a cheese course all piled together!
Mama JJ, thank you!
You're always too kind, stephanie.
Barbara, thyme is probably my favourite herb, but some judiciously-snipped rosemary might also work. I am so happy to hear you like the combination.
i agree sara! i often see puff pastry recipes and won't be enticed - i don't know why that is. so glad that you like my adjustments, although i realize that i've changed the spirit of the dish. the original was just too sweet for my want, but i'm sure is delicious.
(sidenote, the original recipe had a lot of wasted pastry - almost a whole box is used only for borders, which bugged.)
My Farmhouse Kitchen, thank you for the compliment. And as far as those cookies go, the crunchy topping of sugar was my favourite part.
Rachel, speaking of apples and pastry, your apple and onion tart is also on my mind! It looked amazing.
Oh gosh, these look and sound divine. I love the combination of apple and cheese. As a child, I would quietly sit in a corner with a granny smith apple and a wedge of cheddar, happy as Larry. These tarts are considerably more indulgent! I would be more than happy to eat these, too!
The goat cheese has won me over! I bet this is a perfect Fall treat:)
Your posts never seem to amaze me. They are like the ultimate comfort food, in words. Thank you for that.
I love these, the fruit and cheese combination is not nearly appreciated enough. I must make these very soon, I am thinking maybe pear and gorgonzola.
Can't wait to try this recipe - the goat cheese has me intrigued. I enjoy fruit in savory dishes, so this I'm sure is delish. Thanks for sharing.
I like the rustic "feel" of those photographs and the natural light is always best!!! Rustic, but at the same time so elegant!!
this is definitely autumnal. i love the flavours. goats cheese and thyme and honey and apple! oh, sending shivers down my spine. and beautiful pictures too. i'm loving your blog!
Heck I'm ready for Autumn any day, especially when there are delicious treats like that around!
Oh my, Tara. Incredible. These will be on our table very soon. Thank you for sharing.
Steve
http://www.myfavoriteflavours.com
You're my hero. Puff pastry, apples and grana. Your food, photos and words make me so happy.
Gorgeous tartlets! I really like the bend towards the savory here. I bet substituting rosemary for the thyme would be interesting too.
Blue cheese works! I've done two variations on this recipe: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/apple_walnut_gorgonzola_rustic_tart/
(I replaced the gorgonzola with stronger blue cheeses, and exchanged pecans for the walnuts).
Your posting and my experience leads me to posit a generalized savory tart:
1 aromatic herb
1 fruit
1 cheese
1 nut
plus something liquid: it could be basalmic vinager, maple syrup, or perhaps a fortified wine.