Tomato Roasted Pepper Tart

How many of us remember a great family recipe?  How many of them have tomatoes in it?  Between a Sicilian grandmother's homemade marinara to your father's Super Bowl chili, the tomato is the steadfast sidekick to so many great dishes out there.  Tomatoes have more sentiment to my life and to my kitchen.  My grandfather used to grow tomatoes at his house in the old french quarter of Manchester.  What used to be a 6'x8' plot of poorly seeded grass was transformed by his hands into a tomato garden.  Chain-link fence to pavement he planted everywhere he could and every summer the tomatoes would grow wildly, a mass of green stalks and fiery red.  




So when I was shopping in the supermarket with my younger sister I picked up a beautiful bunch of on the vine tomatoes.   I looked them over carefully and put them into the bag after briefly inhaling their slightly acidic fragrance, my teenage sibling rolling her eyes.  It's okay that she doesn't get it.  It's one of the few one ups I have on her.  She calls it "fancy food" and I get to puff out my chest a little and because I know that in a few years she'll go to college be begging for anything other then ramen noodles and peanut butter sandwiches.  

This recipe is inspired by my friend Dawn Hunt's Tomato Basil Tart, and was enhanced by myself and my friend Gillian.   The dish brings out the tomato's truest flavors, the acidity tempered by the basil and the sweetness in perfect contrast with the sea salt.  You can use a simple store bought pie crust for this (I recommend the Whole Foods Gluten Free as a wheat alternative), or you can use mine which follows.

All Butter Pie Crust: Yields 2 bottom crusts

Ingredients 

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted sweet cream butter
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup and 1 Tb. ice water
• 2 tsp, granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs

Start by cutting the butter into 1/2 inch cubes.
Mix flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and blend thoroughly.  I recommend using a pastry blender instead of a food processor to control the consistency more effectively.  Using the pastry blender, cut in cubes of butter into the flour until mixture has a gravel-like consistency.   Slowly add in the ice water and continue blending.  Take the dough and form a large ball, cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 10-15 min.


Once the dough has chilled, remove it, halve it and roll it out onto a lightly floured surface.  Turn the dough periodically, and try to roll it into a circular shape.  When finished simply set the pie crust into a lighted greased pie dish, trim any large excess pieces off, and pinch and fold the edges clockwise until you have a pattern like the one above.  Repeat for the second crust.  After each crust is properly trimmed and folded, crack the two eggs, separating the yolks and brush each crust with the egg whites.  This will help seal the crusts from the excess moisture of the tomatoes and peppers.  


Tomato Tart Filling:
Ingredients 

• 5-6 on the vine tomatoes
• 2 C fresh basil 
• 1 C roasted red peppers
• 6oz fresh mozzarella.
• 3/4 Tb sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the tomatoes thoroughly and cut into 1/4" discs (slicing disc and food processor may be helpful).   Split the tomatoes evenly between each crust layering them in a circular pattern, the sea salt distributed over the top.  Next take the basil and remove the stems, either tearing the leaves or chopping them roughly.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup basil in each pie over the tomatoes.  Drain the red peppers of any excess oil and julienne into long strips and added into the filling, followed by the remaining basil.  The mozzarella can be shredded or sliced and layered on top of the tart.  I prefer shredding because it ensures equal distribution of cheesy goodness, but my logic may be skewed.  Take the completed tarts and bake for 20-25 minutes.  

CHEESE.  Oh yeah, tomatoes too.

So as you enjoy the greatness that is the tomato (and it's side-kick, cheese), think about how it can be the hero in your next dish, and enjoy using them in new ways.  They may be available all year but summer fresh ones are the ones that can really make your recipes shine.