Fresh Tomato Tart
Tomatoes are just gorgeous right now and loading them into this delightful summery tart is just about the best idea I can think of!
The crust bakes up golden brown and the filling is a mix of cheesy Parmesan goodness balanced out by the tang of buttermilk with a generous amount of sliced scallions thrown in too. Yum!
And sure, you could buy a ready-made crust (and if you do, I promise no judgement!) but I really, really urge you to make your own. It comes together in a snap in the food processor, handles easily when rolling out and can even be made and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days so that you can roll it out whenever you’re ready. Most importantly, it tastes super fantastic! Light and flaky and buttery!
And you blind bake it, which is just a fancy way of saying pre-bake, so that there are no soggy bottoms!!
The filling comes together 1-2-3! Just a bit of whisking, really.
The fun comes in arranging the tomatoes. Here I used regular beefsteak tomatoes cut into wedges to make a circle around the edges of the tart and then piled a bunch of sliced grape tomatoes into the center. Unfortunately, in my enthusiasm I poured on the custard and sprinkled on the Parm before stopping to take any step-by-step shots, but you can kind of get the gist from the photo below.
Then, all that’s left to do is bake it up and revel in the golden brown, tomato-y goodness that emerges from your oven!
It’s lovely served for lunch, brunch or as a light dinner with a nice green salad on the side.
Yup, I’m hanging onto summer for as long as I can!!!
Fresh Tomato Tart
Makes 8-10 servings
It really helps to have a food processor to make the crust, but it’s not absolutely necessary—you could use a mixer or even do it by hand.
Prep Time for Crust: 10 minutes, plus at least 1 hour of chilling time and up to 3 days, plus time to roll out and chill dough; Bake Time for crust: 25 minutes; Prep Time for filling: 15 minutes; Bake time for tart: 30-35 minutes
Ingredients
For the crust
2 ½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes (cut butter and then place on a small plate and chill so it’s really cold)
¼ cup ice water
For the filling
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup buttermilk, well shaken
2 large eggs
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
6 scallions, cut into thin slices
A couple of pinches of black pepper
3 medium tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch wedges, plus a handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
The Recipe
1. To make the crust: Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the pieces of butter look like small peas. Pour in the ice water and pulse until the dough just starts to come together in a shaggy ball. You want to try not to over mix. Tear off a large piece of plastic wrap and dump the dough into the center of it. Rather than your warm hands, use the plastic to gather the dough into a ball and flatten it into a disk with the heel of your hand. Tightly wrap the dough and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
2. Preheat oven to 350ºF. If you’ve chilled the dough for several hours or days, take it out of the fridge a little while before you plan to use it so that it can soften up for rolling out. Lightly flour a board or your counter and your rolling pin. Roll the dough into a large, 14-inch circle that’s about ¼ inch thick and carefully transfer it to a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Gently press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan and then trim any overhang (if you have a lot of extra dough, you can make a little galette or something). Chill the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes. Then remove and prick all over with a fork and place the dough on a rimmed baking sheet. Line the dough with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans to weigh the paper down. Bake the crust for about 15 minutes, until the edges of the crust are just beginning to turn lightly golden. Then remove the tart from the oven and remove the parchment paper and weights and return the tart to the oven for another 12-15 minutes until the crust is golden all over but not a deep brown. Let cool slightly on a wire rack while you prepare the filling.
3. To make the filling: whisk the mayonnaise, buttermilk, eggs, ½ cup of the Parmesan, the scallions and black pepper in a large bowl. Pour about ¾ of it over the cooked crust and then arrange the tomato wedges in a circular pattern around the perimeter and the smaller tomatoes in the center (or however you like it). Pour the remaining batter over the rest of the tart and sprinkle evenly all over with the remaining Parmesan.
4. Bake the tart for about 30-35 minutes until it’s a deep golden brown and the filling is set. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes. Then unmold and serve at room temperature or pop back into the oven at a low temp to reheat before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Repertoire by Jessica Battilana. I tinkered with the proportions in the filling and cut the basil but it would be good with this or with parsley—just ran out and couldn’t get to the market.
