This is a dish that actually came about roughly a year ago, and it occurred to me tonight (as I was working on a different tart– more on that later) that I really ought to post it here. Mother had brought home some really lovely cherry tomatoes from the farmer's market one day and left them sitting in a colander at the end of the table, so I was staring at them all through dinner. I think they were originally intended to become a gazpacho, but my creative wheels were turning, so I claimed them as my own for an experiment dish. To be perfectly honest, tomatoes aren't usually my favorite vegetable (fruit, whatever), but these just looked so beautiful, all red and plump and shiny and smelling perfectly ripe even from across the table. And that's the trick to making this dish work– great tomatoes are an absolute must. Flavorless hothouse stuff simply will not work, and is a sin against produce to begin with. These tarts rely on fresh food being its naturally delicious self.
Ingredients:
For the filling:
1 candy onion (or other sweet yellow onion)
2 plum tomatoes
1 candy onion (or other sweet yellow onion)
2 plum tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 large clove of garlic
Fresh ground pepper
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Crumbled goat cheese
For the crust:
1 and 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crisco
3-4 tablespoons cold water
4 small tart forms
1 large clove of garlic
Fresh ground pepper
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Crumbled goat cheese
For the crust:
1 and 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crisco
3-4 tablespoons cold water
4 small tart forms
Preparation:
1. Dice the onion and caramelize over low heat in a saucepan with olive oil and a bit of butter for about 20 minutes.
2. Smash, peel, and finely mince the garlic.
3. Add garlic to the onions and cook for another 10-15 minutes, then allow to cool.
4. Time to make the tart crust. Combine flour and salt, then cut in the Crisco.
5. Add 2 tablespoons of water and mix. Then add your third and mix in that; only add the fourth if it needs it. How much water the dough requires depends on how humid the air is, so adding it gradually ensures you don't ruin your dough.
6. Divide in quarters and smush the dough evenly into your tart forms. You really don't need to roll it out in the small ones– I just use my fingers to press it in. You probably could just make one larger tart, but I like the smaller ones, both for their look and because they ensure there's no fighting about slice sizes (and in my house there always is...)
7. Now it's time to fill the tarts. Grate your parmesan and spread a layer on the bottom of each tart, not too thick.
8. Thinly slice your tomatoes and lay the slices in the tarts. For my tart forms (about 4.5 inches), around three slices covered most of it.
9. Spread your caramelized onions on each tart (you'll probably have some extra left).
10. Grate some pepper on the tarts, then make a chiffonade of your fresh basil and spread that on as well.
11. Crumble the goat cheese on top of each tart.
2. Smash, peel, and finely mince the garlic.
3. Add garlic to the onions and cook for another 10-15 minutes, then allow to cool.
4. Time to make the tart crust. Combine flour and salt, then cut in the Crisco.
5. Add 2 tablespoons of water and mix. Then add your third and mix in that; only add the fourth if it needs it. How much water the dough requires depends on how humid the air is, so adding it gradually ensures you don't ruin your dough.
6. Divide in quarters and smush the dough evenly into your tart forms. You really don't need to roll it out in the small ones– I just use my fingers to press it in. You probably could just make one larger tart, but I like the smaller ones, both for their look and because they ensure there's no fighting about slice sizes (and in my house there always is...)
7. Now it's time to fill the tarts. Grate your parmesan and spread a layer on the bottom of each tart, not too thick.
8. Thinly slice your tomatoes and lay the slices in the tarts. For my tart forms (about 4.5 inches), around three slices covered most of it.
9. Spread your caramelized onions on each tart (you'll probably have some extra left).
10. Grate some pepper on the tarts, then make a chiffonade of your fresh basil and spread that on as well.
11. Crumble the goat cheese on top of each tart.
12. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40-45 minutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment