Fresh Tomato Tart

Buttery pastry dough is easy to make with this simple recipe. It’s baked to golden, flaky perfection with fresh tomato slices, herbs & grated cheese for a light meal or appetizer!

About a month ago I reviewed a 2013 Stormwatch, and just recently a pair of bottles from Epicurious wines. In both posts I stressed the importance of treating wine as key to preparing a successful meal, stating that the “combination of food and wine ties directly into the idea of presentation.”

I found myself thinking about this just the other day while talking with my brother, and as is our predictable ritual, the conversation veered to food, wine, and our shared memories. Specifically, we spoke a bit about wine in our home growing up, and how the practice of serving wine with small plates of appetizers has come into vogue over the past few years. This, oddly, was something we simply took for granted growing up. It’s simply how wine was served and enjoyed.

Does this mean our family was well ahead of their time in how they approached their wine? Unlikely, since the idea of ‘tapas’ dates back at least several centuries to medieval Spanish taverns, and possibly millennia more if proper Roman wine etiquette is taken into consideration. A far more likely conclusion, instead, is that ‘proper’ or ‘traditional’ wine serving etiquette is finding its way back into the spotlight.

Needless to say, this brief conversation left me eager to try my hand at my own take on a ‘wine appetizer,’ and I decided to prepare what was one of my family’s favorite wine-pairing items growing up – a Fresh Tomato and Herb Tart, which we often saw served alongside wine, cheese, and perhaps olives and infused oil.

To start off, we begin with the dough by mixing flour, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and grated nutmeg, with some cubed butter. After mixing that together as shown and described below, we beat in an egg with some cold water. Once that’s done, you’ll have to carry through the ever-pleasant process of rolling and kneading the dough as I’ve shown below.

Now, here comes the fun part – the filling…or is it a topping? I suppose that depends upon one’s perspective, but that’s a debate for another post. We begin by layering sliced tomatoes across the tart, and then topping these with chopped scallions, parsley, and garlic. Now, simply season with red pepper, black pepper, salt and dried oregano, and top it all off with a generous helping of cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, and it’s time to bake.

Fresh TomatoTart

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• Author: Living the Gourmet
• Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

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For the Dough:

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 8 tbs. unsalted butter – chilled and cubed
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• Dash of fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 3 – 4 tbs. cold water

For the Topping:

• 2 large vine ripe tomatoes – sliced thin
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic – chopped
• ¼ cup of fresh Italian parsley – chopped
• 1 bunch of scallions (about 4- 6) – chopped
• ¼ cup of fresh grated Romano cheese
• ½ cup of shredded mozzarella
• Salt
• Pepper
• Red pepper flakes
• Dried oregano
• 2 – 3 tbs. olive oil

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Instructions

For the Dough:

1. Mix flour, salt, black pepper and grated nutmeg in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter using a pastry cutter breaking the butter into a course texture.
2. Beat the egg with the cold water.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg wash. Stir until the dough comes together. If the dough does not come together add a tablespoon of cold water at a time and until the dough comes together.
4. Place parchment paper in the pan.
5. Form the dough into ball and on a floured surface roll the dough out.
6. Roll the dough around a floured rolling pin and unroll it over the prepared pan.

For the Topping:

1. Arrange a single layer of sliced tomatoes over the tart. Leaving about a one inch border of the dough to fold over and pinch with a fork.
2. Combine the chopped scallions, parsley and garlic and sprinkle over the tomatoes.
3. Season the top with the red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt and dried oregano.
4. Sprinkle the cheeses over the top of the tart and drizzle with the olive oil.
5. Preheat Oven at 425 F.
6. Bake the tart for 25 – 30 minutes until the crust is a beautiful golden color.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Appetizer

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After about thirty minutes, the tart should be a beautiful golden color, and you’ve got the perfect pairing with either a good sagrantino, a sturdy sangiovese, or sangiovese-based chianti.

Enjoy with Love!