Tomato Tart

It is August so that means tomatoes. I was worried in July: A pair of squirrels were eating so many of the early varieties of tomatoes. But my strategy of over-abundance has worked out. I have 45 plants and more tomatoes than the squirrels know what to do with. I have a lot of beefsteaks and oxheart tomatoes now.

A friend, Vicky Anderson, recently posted a tasty-looking photo of her tomato pie. I had never tried tomato pie but it is on the spectrum from pizza to flatbread to tart to pie.

This version uses some of the heirloom tomatoes (Airyleaf Oxheart, Dr. Wyche’s Yellow Beefsteak) from tomatofest.com. I also used the recommended Gruyere cheese that is traditional for quiche because of its excellent melting during baking. I didn’t have Camembert so I used Feta. I thought I was using a tart pan but, as Marie corrected me, I was using a ringform-pan. Oh well.

This is a variation on a Bobby Flay recipe:

Serves 8

Pie Crust Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into1/2-inch pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons cold water

Tart Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
• One to two pounds of meaty tomato (plum, oxheart, beefsteak), cut into 1/2-inch slices, seeds removed. Note: 2 pounds makes it more deep-dish. 
• 5 ounce package of crumbled low-fat feta cheese
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Directions:

For the dough: Combine the flour, butter and some salt and pepper using a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the oil and the water just until the bottom of the mixture begins to cling together. If necessary, add an additional tablespoon of oil. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

For the tart: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roll the chilled dough into a 14-inch circle and place into a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 10 minutes.

Slice the tomatoes. Do the following to make the tomatoes less watery: Layer on paper towels and lightly salt; turn off and again lightly salt. Cover with more paper towels. After 15 minutes, blot any excess moisture.

Spread the mustard over the bottom of the tart shell. Sprinkle the Gruyere evenly over the mustard and alternately place the tomato and Feta over the Gruyere. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 minutes.

Mix together the olive oil, basil, parsley, thyme and garlic in a small bowl.  Remove the tart. Brush two-thirds of the mixture over the tart. and cool briefly before serving. Serve warm with the remaining herb oil.