Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Fruits of Labor : summer tomato tart


Finally! the tomatoes are ready. The sun has been bright enough and hot enough to plump them up and they are delicious. I cant get enough. 
I have been eating them every which way, but this little tart is something special. Its quite easy, even with its made from scratch flaky crust. I love the presentation too - for a weeknight dinner, hot or cold, or so pretty for an occasion with friends. 
I like to mix and match varieties of tomatoes for texture, color and presentation. You can use any little molds you may have, just be sure to lightly grease the bottom & sides.  A larger tarte tin works well too. 
Bon Appetit!
For the Crust: 
      1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
      1/4 teaspoon sugar
      fine sea salt
     1/2 cup cold unsalted butter. cut into 1/2 inch dice 
    1/4 cup ice water 

***try to process & touch this dough as little as possible. that will keep it tender 

in a food processor (i use my hand blender attachment) combine the flour, sugar & 1/4 teaspoon salt. pulse to mix. 
add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If you are using a food processor keep the dough in the machine and slowly drizzle in the ice water. If not, I dump the mixture out into a stainless bowl and very gently mix with my hand as I add the ice water. When the dough forms a loose ball turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight. 
Remove dough from refrigerator about 20 mins before rolling it out. 

For the Filling:
5 oz of fresh goat cheese. crumbled 
2-3 medium heirloom tomatoes. ripe. or substitute in some cherry tomatoes. cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. 
1 teaspoon of fresh basil. cut into strips 
1 teaspoon lemon thyme 
1 tablespoon EVOO. 
salt & pepper 

Preheat oven to 425°
Lightly flour your work surface and begin to gently roll out your dough. Dough should be about 1/8 of an inch thick or about 11" round if using a tarte pan. Cut dough to fit and press gently into into greased molds. Trim any overhanging edges. Place dough lined molds on a baking sheet, cover with tinfoil and press lightly over the dough. You can use pie weights here if you wish. Bake about 10 minutes. Then remove foil and bake and additional 2 minutes or until crust is a light golden color. 
cool slightly. 

Reduce oven temperature to 400° 
Distribute goat cheese over the bottom of the crust and arrange tomato slices in a pretty fan shape. top with cherry tomatoes if using. Sprinkle basil, thyme, salt & pepper and a drizzle of EVOO over the top of each tart. 
Bake until tomatoes are slightly shriveled around the edges and the crust is golden. 30-40 minutes. 
transfer to a wire rack and cool. gently remove from pan and serve. 

I like to accompany mine with a lightly dressed frisee salad & soft boiled egg. 



*recipe adapted from Rustic Italian. domenica marchetti. 2011. 

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