It's a Good Year for the Tomatoes {Cold Basil-Scented Tomato Tart}

As long as I can remember, my family always had a vegetable garden. While my father, Honey, might experiment a bit with different vegetables and varieties like okra, squash and peppers, the main focus was always tomatoes. When El Syd and I married, one of the first things I did in Massachusetts was to insist on a raised tomato garden. That summer we planted 24 tomato plants, and due to the super soil we had delivered and carted into the raised bed and the fabulous NE summer weather, a bumper crop would be an understatement. Some of those tomatoes were enormous and we ended up giving away loads and even carting some home when we visited Texas.

When we moved back to Texas, again, I insisted on another raised bed vegetable garden. In the 10 years or so that we've lived here, our success has been variable - some years have been rather horrid either due to the drought, heat or general neglect from the gardeners; other years have been rather good and this happens to be one of those years. We've been enjoying the output of our entirely tomato garden in a variety of ways, but mostly Caprese salad (sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese & basil topped with a little balsamic and olive oil.) In an effort to switch it up, I did a little searching and found a great recipe for a cold tomato tart in (of all places) the William-Sonoma catalog that landed in my mailbox this week.

This recipe calls for making your own tart crust, and that's what I did, but I believe that a purchased "bake it yourself" crust or puff pastry would fill in just as well. (The crust that was included in the recipe is quite divine - flaky buttery light and delicious.)

Cold Basil-scented Tomato and Cheese Tart

adapted from William-Sonoma

Crust (or store-bought pie dough or puff pastry)

• 2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small (1/2 in) pieces.
• 1/4 C ice water (more if needed)

Filling

• 1- 16 oz container ricotta cheese
• 8 oz freshly grated parmesan
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 1/2 lbs garden fresh tomatoes, sliced to 1/4 in thickness
• a bit of salt and small basil leaves to garnish

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and butter. Using pastry blender, blend butter and flour until the mixture is coarse meal. Add 1/4 C of ice cold water and bring the dough together using a spatula. The dough should hold together but not be sticky. If it is too crumbly and doesn't seem to want to hold, add more water 1 tsp at a time, mixing well after each addition. Turn dough onto a work surface and pat into a 5 inch disk. Wrap with plastic and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hrs).  
2. Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400F.
3. Roll out dough (or purchased pie crust or puff pastry) to 1/8 in thick to fit a 10 1/4 in pie pan or tart pan (Chilled dough will be a bit tough to roll at the start; be patient.) Press dough into the pan and trim off excess but leave 1/2 overhang. Fold overhang into the sides and press to make sure sides are thicker than the bottom. Return dough to fridge for at least 10 minutes to firm up butter.
4. Put tart pan on a baking sheet. Place parchment on top of dough and fill pan with pie weights. (I don't own any of those so I used rice - it won't be hurt by baking in the oven like beans would be so it can be used to make a toasty rice pilaf after serving its purpose.)
5. If using purchased dough, follow package directions for blind baking. For this dough, bake for 12 minutes, then remove weights and parchment and bake for another 10 minutes or so (Crust should be light golden brown and baked through.) Allow tart crust to cool completely in the pan.
6. In a bowl, mix the cheeses and the basil well. Spread cheese mixture, evenly into the cooled tart shell. Top with tomato slices and sprinkle with a bit of salt and the basil leaves (and cracked black pepper if you like). Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Because this tart isn't baked after filling, it made for a lovely, cool, refreshing light supper. The crust making is a bit time consuming, but well worth the effort. Again, if you don't have the time, use a purchased short cut and you should have delightful results as well.

Happy Cooking!

sld

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