Sep 4, 2009

Herbed Tomato Tart

Made with ripe cherry tomatoes and fragrant herbs, this tart is both delicious and beautiful. It comes from Beth Elon's article "Dinner in the Piazza" (October 2009), about the annual midsummer communal feast held in the hilltop town of Buggiano, in northern Tuscany.

Credit: Todd Coleman

SERVES 12�16

INGREDIENTS

2 9" x 11" sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed and chilled
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
12 anchovy filets in oil, drained and finely chopped
3 lbs. cherry or grape tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh oregano
Freshly grated nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 375°. Fit pastry sheets side by side into a parchment paper�lined 13" x 17 ¾" rimmed baking pan, pressing pastry against bottom and sides. Trim inner edges of pastry sheets so that they form a seam in center; trim pastry hanging over sides of pan. Prick bottom of pastry with a fork. Line bottom and sides of pastry with parchment paper and fill with dried beans. Bake until edges of tart are golden, 25 minutes. Remove beans and parchment paper, sprinkle Parmesan over tart shell, and bake until cheese is melted and tart shell is golden all over, 15�20 minutes. Transfer to a rack; let cool.

2. Heat oven to broil and arrange a rack 4" from heating element. In a large bowl, mix together oil and anchovies; add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Transfer tomato mixture to a rimmed baking sheet and broil, shaking pan once or twice, until tomatoes blister, 12�14 minutes. Let cool slightly. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomato mixture to the prepared tart shell; distribute tomatoes evenly.

3. Increase oven heat to 425°. In a medium bowl, combine the parsley, chives, oregano, and nutmeg; sprinkle herb mixture evenly over the tomatoes. Return tart to oven and bake until hot, about 15 minutes. Let tart cool slightly before serving.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #123

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Ratings & Reviews (5)

by ibrest on 2009-09-20

I haven't made this yet. The magazine says to come to the website to see the particular instructions for fitting the pastry into the pan, but where are they?

by Ladybug on 2009-09-21

I just made this yesterday. It really does taste good. We had friends over and one is allergic to Glutten and another is allergic to Lactose, so I had to be a little creative! I actually made two small "pies", one with the cheese and one without the cheese(this one took care of my friend with lactose intolerance). For a glutten free version, I simply set aside a serving of the prepared tomatoes, set them in a seperate pan (on parchement paper) and sprinkled them with the cheese. I then heated it up a bit to melt the cheese and then served them on a bed of lettuce!

by Redness on 2012-06-29

I would have easily given this a 5 star rating except I thought it needed garlic. I have chopped some garlic and put it in with the herbs. It is very good that way.

by Bill Badger on 2012-08-13

Given the amount of time it is baked in the oven, I can't see how it wouldn't be burned.

by BANGALICIOUS on 2012-08-27

I made this last night as a predinner drinks appetizer. It was univerally liked. I would recommend though that you completely disintegrate the anchovy filets in a little bit of hot olive oil- or dice them microscopically small. This is gilding the lily because the recipe was a hit and completely annihilated within minutes.

small note, i only baked my shell for about 15 with the beans instead of the recommended 25. it started to smell baked so i pulled it out. also, for the last 15 minute bake with the tomatoes integrated, i warmed it up covered because the crust was already the perfect color and i didn't want it to burn.

try this, its good

Herbed Tomato Tart 5 5 2 5