Want to impress the veggie lovers in your life? Want to impress the stubborn eaters in your life who might eat red meat one too many times a month? Want to impress them all at the same time?
This is your tart.
This dinner party happened last week with Alayna and her lady folk and then I repeated it when my parents and extended family came over for brunch. All parties were impressed. And see that, this is both a good dinner and a good brunch. Excellent.
And it's easy to make-- even if it's 10am on a Saturday and you're a little hungover like I might have been and you're entire family is about to bust into your apartment and you are still in your pajamas-- whatever the circumstances, you will impress someone.
Here we go: Tomato Tart*, Veggie Salad & Spinach and Mushrooms
*Tomato Tart is a slightly modified version of Meredith's tart. Thanks Meredith.
Pastry:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 stick of cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
Zest from 1/2 lemon
1/4 c. ice water
Filling:
1 1/2 to 2 tbspn dijon mustard
2 tbspn Parmesan cheese
small handful of chopped basil
some shakes of thyme
small handful of chopped parsley
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt & pepper
6-8 plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 tbspn olive oil
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tspn water
1 1/2 c. flour
1 stick of cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
Zest from 1/2 lemon
1/4 c. ice water
Filling:
1 1/2 to 2 tbspn dijon mustard
2 tbspn Parmesan cheese
small handful of chopped basil
some shakes of thyme
small handful of chopped parsley
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt & pepper
6-8 plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 tbspn olive oil
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tspn water
Pulse the butter, flour, salt, lemon zest & Parmesan together in a food processor, hand mixer or by hand. When it has formed a coarse meal, add water slowly until the dough binds. Can either be used immediately, or made ahead and refrigerated(let it soften to room temp for 30 min if chilled).
Preheat the over to 425. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to make a 12 inch circle. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (NOTE! PARCHMENT PAPER IS NOT THE SAME AS WAX PAPER... we discovered this once the smell of burning started coming out of the oven and ended up transferring everything to a pie pan to prevent fire. Meredith says you can also just use a greased pan if you don't have parchment). Using a pastry brush, spread the mustard over the surface, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Mix all the herbs and the salt & pepper in a bowl. Arrange half of tomato slices over the mustard and sprinkle with half of the herb mixture. Repeat. Fold the edge of the pastry over the tomatoes, and pinch any cracks to keep juices in while baking. Drizzle with olive oil. Brush crust with yolk mixture. Bake for20-25 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve warm.
Preheat the over to 425. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to make a 12 inch circle. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (NOTE! PARCHMENT PAPER IS NOT THE SAME AS WAX PAPER... we discovered this once the smell of burning started coming out of the oven and ended up transferring everything to a pie pan to prevent fire. Meredith says you can also just use a greased pan if you don't have parchment). Using a pastry brush, spread the mustard over the surface, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Mix all the herbs and the salt & pepper in a bowl. Arrange half of tomato slices over the mustard and sprinkle with half of the herb mixture. Repeat. Fold the edge of the pastry over the tomatoes, and pinch any cracks to keep juices in while baking. Drizzle with olive oil. Brush crust with yolk mixture. Bake for20-25 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve warm.
Salad!
Cut up cucumber, avocado, tomato and red/yellow peppers if you have them, mix with a handful of chopped fresh basil and drizzle with balsamic
Optional addition: I added some mango and it was awesome.
Mushrooms & Spinach
Slice 4-6 cloves of garlic and saute on low heat in walnut or olive oil in a big pot. After about a minute, add in a box of sliced baby bella (or really any type) of mushrooms and saute until they start to cook through. Once the mushrooms are getting softer, add in a bag of spinach and stir to distribute oil. Cover and let cook slowly, stirring occasionally. Add rock salt to tast.
Happy Tomato Tarts.
PS I wanted to post the after pictures of this dinner party but Alayna didn't let me. But let me say, tart makes people crazzzzy.
FYI, I don't even like tomatoes and I loved the tomato tart! Well done, ladies.
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