It's tomato season and the days are finally cooler, so it's a fine time to fire up the oven to make this colorful beauty! Here's how to make this cheesy tomato tart. I used Martha Stewart's Pâte brisée recipe for the crust, which makes enough for two, so why not make a second one to bring to work or give to a neighbor? You could also freeze one half of your dough for a later time. The recipe below is for one tart.
Once you've got the dough made and placed into your pan of choice (round, square or rectangular shape) you must let it rest in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes first, or else when you blind bake it the dough will pull away from the top of your pan edges and shrink.
To blind bake your tart shell:
Once your tart dough has rested, remove the shell from the fridge or freezer, prick bottom with a fork, and line with parchment paper cut to fit. Fill with dried beans or metal pie weights. Bake in preheated a 375° oven until the crust is just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and remove beans or weights. Return the crust to the oven, and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven, and set aside on a wire rack to cool before filling with our cheese mixture and tomatoes. Keep the oven on.
To make the cheese filling:
While your tart is baking, make or the cheese filling. I like to use a mix of Boursin herbed cheese, goat cheese, and cream cheese. The cheese is rich, so I also add in some lemon zest or a tsp. of dijon mustard to brighten up the flavors.
1 package Boursin cheese
1/3 cup goat cheese
1/3 cup cream cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Mix all these ingredients into a bowl, then spread on the bottom of your tart.
Top with the tomatoes:
Now comes the creative part... adding the sliced tomatoes! You may use any color or size of tomatoes and make any pattern you wish. Slice the tomatoes into 1/4" slices, and the smaller grape tomatoes can be cut in half. For this tart I used a random pattern using several colors and sizes of tomatoes, but you could also use just one color tomato and layer them neatly, or alternate two colored tomatoes.
To bake:
Once the tomatoes are on the tart spray with an olive oil spray (or brush with olive oil) to help the tomatoes brown. Place the tart on a sheet pan, and bake it in a 375° for 15-20 minutes oven until the tomatoes and cheese just start to bubble. Remove tart from oven, and place on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!
