I just bought my copy of Ina Garten’s “Cooking for Jeffery Cook Book”. (I think she has a new one out, so I may be one book behind). As I was paging through it, I came across a Tomato Tart Recipe. We were having friends over and thought this would make a perfect light dinner. It got rave reviews – THANK YOU INA!!! Of course, I had to try this with a few tweaks! Hey, that’s what I do. The original recipe called for just tomatoes, which is very good. I made a second one with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Onion. I used the tomatoes that are on the vine. I love the Tart Recipe and can think of so many different filling combinations. I also froze some of the tart dough so I can play with this recipe in the near future.
Here is the Recipe!
Enjoy!
Tomato and Zucchini Tart
To make the Crust
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (You can use cup for cup and make this GF
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
12 Tablespoons (1 ½ Stick) cold unsalted Butter, ½ inch pieces
2 cold extra-large egg yolks
½ cup ice water
2 ½ pounds dried beans for baking the crust (optional)
To make the Filling
1 ½ pounds firm medium sized tomatoes. Cored and sliced ¼ inch thick
1 ½ cup Zucchini (unpeeled) sliced ¼ inch thick
2 cups Sweet Onions (about 3 Medium Onions peeled and sliced
1 cup whole fresh parsley leaves, lightly packed
½ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
3 large garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons good olive oil
6 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
¾ pounds Grated Gruyere Cheese
½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
Place the flour and 1 teaspoon of salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
Add the butter and pulse 12 to 15 times, until the butter is the size of peas. Add the egg yolks and pulse a few times to combine. Slowly add the ice water through the feed tube and continue to pulse until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and roll into a flat disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (You can freeze the dough at this point).
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line the sheet pan with parchment paper.
While your dough is chilling, start on the filling.
Place the tomatoes in a large bowl. Put the parsley, basil, garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 Teaspoon pepper in the bowl of the food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until finely minced. With the food processor running, pour in the olive oil and process until combined. Pour the mixture over the sliced Tomatoes and Zucchini and slice gently. Set aside. (Shortcut Alert!!!! – This is basically a pesto, so you can use your favorite store bought pesto instead of doing this step. Just bring the jar of Pesto to room temperature and pour it over the tomatoes and Zucchini).
In a medium pan, Saute onions in 2 tablespoons for Olive oil until soft and transparent. Allow to cool.
On a well-floured board, roll the dough out to an 11 x 17- inch rectangle and transfer to the prepared sheet pan. It doesn’t have to be exact in size and can be a little rough around the edges. (This will add to its charm!!). Just make sure it fits most of the bottom of the pan. Place the second sheet pan directly onto the pastry and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the top sheet pan and using a fork, pierce the pastry in any places. Bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned. (Check the pastry during baking and pierce any bubbles that form. Allow the crust to cool for 15 minutes.
Lower the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the mustard on the crust with a pastry brush. Drain the onions of any excess liquid and spread evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the crust with a thick even layer of Gruyere cheese, reserving ½ cup to sprinkle on the top. Sprinkle the Gruyere with ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese. Place the Zucchini and Tomatoes in an alternating and overlapping pattern on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the top with the reserved ½ cup of Gruyere Cheese and 2 Tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.
Cool slightly, cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature. (I pull the parchment paper onto a cutting board and serve it straight from there. It’s great with a Greek or Ceasar Salad.
