Once upon a time I fell in love with a salted butter chocolate chip cookie recipe my nephew Stefan found by David Lebovitz. Then, I started seeking out the blog for other yummy recipes and ultimately subscribed to his newsletter. When a “fresh tomato tart” post recently arrived, I saved the recipe for the moment I could get my hands on some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes from my favorite local farm.
This tart is not as hard to make as you might think it is. You can whip up this dough in about 10 minutes and it doesn’t require kneading. But you do need to plan a little ahead because you’re supposed to let the dough sit in the fridge for an hour or so. Rules are meant to be broken. Proceed at your own risk.
Now, I’m not a pastry chef so don’t know the finer points of what makes a tart a tart, but I think it has to do with the height of the sides and that they are perpendicular to the base. So in shape, this tart is not a tart, but a galette, which is about as easy as it gets. You roll the dough into a circle, don your toppings, fold in the edges and get to baking.
I’ve made this four times in less than a month. David uses the oven. Since it’s summer and I don’t want to use the oven, I cooked this on on a copper grill sheet directly on the grill at 400-ish for 25 minutes or so. I have a three burner grill, so turn the middle element to medium and the right and left elements to low. I toggle the heat in the middle up and down to keep the temp just below 400. The bottom can get a little a little dark, but the flavor is worth it. What you put on the tart is entirely up to you. I go light on the mustard, include some pesto and zucchini rounds, and use whatever cheese is in the fridge. The one above is topped with parmesan. I really love it with a tomato basil feta.
The following recipe and directions are by David Lebovitz
Ingredients
For the dough
1 1/4 (175g) cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (35g) polenta (or cornmeal, but polenta lends a nutty texture)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 ounces – about 4.5 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
5 tablespoons (70ml) ice water, plus more if necessary
For the tart
2 tablespoons or up to 1/4 cup (60g) Dijon or whole-grain mustard – taster’s choice
3 medium tomatoes (~1 1/2 pounds)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 ounces (170g) whole-milk ricotta, or crumbled feta, mozzarella, parmesan or a combo
1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter (optional)
Directions
To make the dough, mix together the flour, polenta, sugar, and salt in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or make it by hand by putting the dry ingredients in a medium bowl (and use a pastry blender or your fingers to mix the dough). Add the cubed, cold butter and mix until the pieces of butter are the size of large corn kernels. Add the water and continue to mix until the dough starts to come together. Use your hands to gather the dough and shape it into a disk. If the dough feels too dry to do that, add more water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until it comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, parchment or what have you and chill for at least an hour. (The dough can be made up to 3 days in advance.)
To make the tart, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap it and, holding the disk of dough perpendicular to the counter, rap the sides of the dough on the counter, turning it as you go, to soften the edges, which helps them stay together and not get too ragged when you’re rolling out the dough.
On a lightly floured countertop, roll the dough out to a 14-inch (36cm) circle, turning the dough and sprinkling more flour on the counter and the dough to keep it from sticking as you’re rolling.
Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC) while you assemble the tart.
Spread a layer of mustard on the dough, leaving a few inches/centimeters empty around the perimeter, which you’ll fold over the filling later.
Slice the tomatoes about 1/3-inch (1cm) thick and layer them in concentric circles, overlapping them a little, over the mustard. Sprinkle the tomatoes with a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Fold the edges of the dough over the tomatoes to make an outer crust.
Place chunks of ricotta cheese over and, in some places, partially tucked under the tomatoes. Brush the edges of the dough with melted butter and grate Parmesan cheese over the entire tart, including the crust.
Bake until the tomatoes are soft and cooked through and the crust is dark golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. Slide the tart off the pan onto a wire rack and let cool for about ten minutes before serving.