You say tomato, I say tomato tart.

Photo from Cannelle et Vanille

Hello kiddies. Miss me? This post is actually something I meant to put up last week, but what can ya do. Here it is for you now. It's a half educational, half bragging kind of post. Kidding, kidding. Well, sorta.

You see, with summer fully gone, I knew tomatoes would be on their way from beautiful, round and abundant to pretty much scant and mealy. In order to take advantage of the last gorgeous, local heirloom tomatoes still cropping up at the farmers markets and grocery stores, I decided to make a tomato tart.

I got the recipe from Martha Stewart (here) a year or so ago and have been dying to give it another shot since my mom gave me a real tart pan (read about my first attempt at this here).

So, here comes the pat myself on the back part (don't say I didn't warn you)...

Here's Martha's version of the tomato tart:

Photo from Martha Stewart

And here's mine:

Not bad, eh? (Especially considering this was a crappy iPhone pic I took as the tart was cooling in my dimly lit kitchen.) In a way, I almost think mine looks prettier with the mix of yellow and red tomatoes. Could it be?

In case you want some more eye candy, here's a close-up:

Yum. It's like a really fancy pizza. Mmmm, pizza.

If you're interested in giving this a try yourself, here's the recipe:

Heirloom Tomato Tart

Originally from Martha Stewart Living, July 2005
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 head garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil Note: next time I would cut this down to 2 tablespoons
All-purpose flour, for dusting
Pate Brisee (pie dough) Note: I used premade dough from the grocery store, found in the refrigerated section (not frozen), and it was just fine
2 ounces Italian fontina cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/2 pounds firm but ripe tomatoes (4 medium), cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place garlic on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Wrap to enclose garlic in foil, and place on a small baking sheet. Bake until soft and golden brown and the tip of a knife easily pierces the flesh, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside.

Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees. When garlic is cool enough to handle, using either your hands or the dull end of a large knife, squeeze the cloves out of their skins and into a small bowl; mash with a fork, and set aside. Discard the papery skins.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/8-inch-thick circle, about 12 inches in diameter. With a dry pastry brush, brush off the excess flour; roll the dough around the rolling pin, and lift it over a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Line the pan with the dough, pressing it into the corners. Trim the dough so that it is flush with the edges; transfer to the refrigerator to chill, about 30 minutes.

Spread roasted garlic evenly on the chilled crust. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Arrange the tomatoes on top of the cheese, in an overlapping circular pattern. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Transfer to oven.
Reduce temperature to 400 degrees. and bake until crust is golden and tomatoes are soft but still retain their shape, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, and serve warm.
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And, in case you're like me and need "Cooking for Dummies" in the kitchen (I so do!), Gail from She Loves to Cook posted step-by-step pics as she made her tomato tart - too bad I didn't find this tutorial until just now, drat! Her post on this recipe is here. Doesn't her tart look pretty with the green tomatoes included? (It's still uncooked, obviously, but pretty nonetheless):

Photo from She Loves to Cook

I assure you this recipe is easy as can be (if I made it, you know it is!) and won't take that long now that I've done it more than once. So let me just relish in this one-time kitchen success and forget about the fact that I had to call my friend Sara in a panic to ask her how to cut a tomato. (I said forget that part. Eep, embarrassing.)