Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Make this now: Tomato Tart

I was going to save this one to post during Lent for our meatless meals series, but it's just so amazing with all of the tomatoes that are in our gardens (or at the farmer's market) right now, that I just had to share the weath. So, while it may make a reappearance for Lent, if I were you, I'd run out right now and find the sweetest little things you can for this dish. (Thanks to Margaret Mary for the cherry tomatoes!)
The original calls for goat cheese, but for my version I used half a batch of homemade mascarpone. Fresh mozzarella would be quite good, too, of course. Something with this much flavor calls for a rather robust honey, so look for something from your farmers' market. Otherwise, Trader Joe's Raw Wild Collected Honey has a good, molassesy flavor.
Why, yes, I do have an awesome pizza wheel. Thanks for noticing.

French Tomato Tart

(Source: David Lebovitz)

Serves two as a main dish, four as a side.

Dough:
  • 1 1/2 cups (210 g) flour 
  • 4 1/2 ounces (125 g) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 
  • 1 large egg 
  • 1-3 tablespoons cold water 

Filling:
  • Dijon or whole-grain mustard 
  • 2-3 large ripe tomatoes 
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil 
  • salt and freshly ground pepper 
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, chives, chervil, or tarragon 
  • 8 ounces fresh goat cheese, sliced into rounds 
  • Optional: 1 1/2 tablespoons flavorful honey 

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and blend until the mixture has a crumbly, cornmeal-like texture. Beat the egg with 1 T of the water. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add egg mixture, stirring until the dough holds together. Add additional water as needed

Gather the dough into a ball and roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, adding additional flour only as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the counter. Once the dough is large enough so that it will cover the bottom of the pan and go up the sides, roll the dough around the rolling pin then unroll it over the tart pan.

If making a freestyle tart, simply transfer the dough to a prepared baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 425ºF

Spread an even layer of mustard (about as thick as for a sandwich) over the bottom of the tart dough (leave a 3" border, give or take for a freestyle tart) and let it sit a few minutes to dry out.

Slice the tomatoes (or halve cherry tomatoes) and arrange them over the mustard in a single, even layer. Drizzle the olive oil over the top. Sprinkle with half of the herbs, then arrange the cheese on top. Add some more fresh herbs, then drizzle with some honey, if using. (If baking a free-form tart, fold up the edges)

Bake the tart for 30 minutes or so, until the dough is cooked, the tomatoes are tender, and the cheese on top is nicely browned, rotating halfway through baking.

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