A Tale of Two Tarts

August and September are the best months for tomatoes. I can’t grow them, we don’t get enough sunshine in our yard. I’ve tried many times, and it always comes out that I spend far too much money and time on the water for the tiny little crop that we get. It’s pathetic. So I support our local farmers by going to the weekend Farmer’s Markets, and I get some pretty amazing tomatoes.

So awhile ago, a cooking blog that I sometimes follow posted a picture of an amazing looking tomato tart on their Facebook page, and I decided that I had to try it. Happily, a few weeks later, we were invited to a small gathering with some friends, and I figured it was my chance to give it a try. Isn’t it pretty? I’m not much of a baker, so not sure if I did something wrong or not. I cheated and used a purchased pie crust, which was flaky and tasty, but when we cut into the tart, it broke all over the place. A friend told me that I might have avoided the problem if I had used the crust recipe that was included…it had an egg in it, which she said would give it more structure. I also think it would have been better, and maybe wouldn’t have fallen apart, if I had served it earlier…as it was, I took it out of the oven at about 1:00, the party started at 3:00, and we ate at 5:00 or 6:00. All of that aside, it was absolutely delicious and I would like to make it again.

Tomato Tart from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

For the Crust
(I used a store bought crust, Pillsbury – pie crust scares me!)

1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt

1/2 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams), cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large egg

1 tablespoon water

For the Filling

3 large very ripe tomatoes, heirloom or other, sliced crosswise 1/4-inch thick (about 1.5 pounds) (I used more than this, not sure how many)

Coarse or kosher salt

1 small garlic clove

1 cup (15 grams) basil leaves, loosely packed

2 cups (25 grams) parsley leaves, loosely packed

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard (double if it you like mustard; skip if you don’t)

2 ounces (55 grams) hard cheese, thinly sliced or coarsely grated (I used pecorino Romano)

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Make the dough
Place flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and water to the food processor, pulsing to incorporate. Pulse until dough comes together. Turn out dough onto a sheet of parchment and shape into a disk. Place another sheet of parchment on top and roll out to an 11-inch disk. Slide onto a plate or tray and freeze for 10 minutes, until firm but not so hard that it will crack when bent. Line a 9.5-inch tart pan, preferably one with a removable bottom, with the dough. [A pie dish or cake pan lined with parchment could work as well, just keep the sides 1-inch high.] Trim excess dough (reserve in the fridge for patching) and prick the bottom with a fork. Freeze for 20 minutes, until solid.
(As I was using refrigerated pie crust, I skipped this, I just took it out when it was cold, put it in the tart pan, pressed it to the sides to look pretty, then put it back in the fridge until it was cold again.)

Bake the shell
Preheat the oven to 375ºF with rack in center. Place the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Weigh the crust down with parchment paper and pie weights, dried beans, or rice (that you don’t plan on using for anything else). Bake crust for 20 minutes. Remove parchment and weights. If there are any cracks or breaks, you can patch with the remaining dough. Bake for 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool.

Meanwhile, place tomato slices on a rimmed baking sheet and lightly sprinkle with salt. (I put them on a baking rack above a baking sheet, so the liquid would drain a bit more.)

Make the pesto
Combine garlic, parsley, basil, and ½ teaspoon salt in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Add olive oil and pulse until a spreadable paste forms. You might need to scrape down the sides of the food processor a few times. If making the herb mixture in advance, store in the refrigerator with plastic wrap pressed against its surface.
(I skipped this and used a really good store bought pesto. I’m lazy.)

Blot tomatoes with paper towels to remove excess liquid.

Assemble and bake the tart
Using a small spoon or offset spatula, spread Dijon mustard evenly on the bottom of the crust. Evenly distribute cheese on top. Dollop with herb mixture and gently spread to cover in a thin layer. Top with tomatoes, overlapping. Cut smaller pieces of tomatoes to fill gaps. The tomatoes shrink while roasting, so keep them snug and the tart pan full. Lightly brush tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

Bake tart until tomatoes are softened and the crust is golden, about 50 minutes and up to 1 hour, until the tomatoes are deeply roasted. Allow to cool slightly then serve warm or at room temperature.

Last week, Maya sent me a tiktok of someone making this tomato tart…it looked similar to the other one, but was different in some fundamental ways. First, the crust is a puff pastry, not a pie crust. Second, while you do cook the puff pastry, the filling and tomatoes are served raw. Also, instead of a hard cheese, it has a combination of feta and yogurt. It calls for dill, which I did not have. I did include the caramelized onion, because that is always a good thing. It was delicious, though REALLY rich, and made us both a little sick in the morning. (Both of us being Maya and me, Ted doesn’t really eat crust or dairy.)

Tomato Tart from Zaynab Issa

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4oz feta cheese
• 1/4 cup (2oz) Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil + more for serving
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons dill, chopped, optional + more for serving (The store was out of dill, so I used some leftover pesto instead…it was OK, but I think I used too much.)
• 1 small onion, caramelized, optional
• 2 – 3 heirloom tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• Flaky salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• Chili flakes, to taste
• 2 teaspoons capers, rinsed, for serving

Directions
Place one sheet of puff pastry onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and use a rolling pin to to smooth out the creases. Score a 1? border around the edge of the sheet using a knife, being careful not to cut all the way through the pastry. Then, using a fork, prick holes all over the center (within the border). Brush the entire sheet of pastry with egg wash, and bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, to a blender, add the feta cheese, greek yogurt, olive oil, and garlic and blend until smooth and aerated. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the chopped dill if using.

When the pastry has finished baking, use a spoon to press the center of the pastry down to create a recessed area, making sure to leave the 1 inch border untouched.

Spread over the whipped feta, top with caramelized onions if using, and follow with the sliced tomatoes. Season the tomatoes with a generous sprinkle of kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and chili flakes.

Finish with more dill, the capers, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

In the end, the first recipe was more to my liking than the second one. I will give it another go with a sturdier crust and eat it sooner. Tomato season is fleeting, so I had better do it soon.