Roasted Tomato Tart

I can not believe that a month has gone by since my last post!  The month of August has FLOWN by like a whirlwind, and I now find myself adjusting to a new school schedule.  In addition to the start of school, it is also time for another round of the Secret Recipe Club.

This month, I was assigned to Bewitching Kitchen written by Sally who is originally from Brazil and has traveled the world.  If you want recipes that feature fresh and healthy ingredients this blog is for you.  I was struggling to choose a recipe because all of Sally's recipes look mouth watering!  I finally settled on the Roasted Heirloom Tomato Tart that she adapted from Just a Smidgen because tomatoes are in abundance right now, and I believe that anything that calls for puff pastry is destined to be delicious!

I was not wrong!  This tart was delicious with the creamy cheese and sweet summer tomatoes atop the light and crispy puff pastry.  I was not able to locate bocconcini mozzarella which is a fresh mozzarella cheese about the size of a cherry tomato and stored in water or whey.  I was able to find a fresh mozzarella with a soft creamy texture, but it was not stored in whey and was about a pound in size.  Another change I made was to use the fresh tomatoes from our church's community garden.  These tomatoes, though not heirlooms, are sweet and delicious and pair wonderfully with the cheeses and herbes de provence.  Please head over and take a look at the beautiful recipes that Sally has posted on her blog, you won't be sorry!  ENJOY!

Roasted Tomato Tart

Recipe Source: Modified slightly from Bewitching Kitchen
(Changes are in italics)

1 package puff pastry, defrosted (use one half for the tart)
5 to 6 heirloom tomatoes (I used fresh garden tomatoes)
olive oil
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1 container of bocconcini mozzarella, drained (200g / 7 to 8 ounces) (I used a fresh mozzarella cut into cubes, though it wasn't stored or shaped like bocconcini mozzarella)
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/8 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
2 tsp Herbes de Provence
1 egg

Heat oven to 400° F.

Roll out one sheet of puff pastry on parchment paper until it measures about  11” x 14”.   Use a fork to poke holes in the dough.  This will help prevent the dough from "puffing" too much.  Roll the edges of the dough to create a border all around.

Spread the tomato sauce inside the border.  Top with the bocconcini or cubed mozzarella.  

To remove the excess liquid from your tomatoes, slice them and place them between two layers of paper towels to draw out the moisture.  Layer the tomatoes over the cheese allowing them overlap a little bit.  If you can, use a variety of sizes and colors.  

Sprinkle the top with the herbes de Provence and the grated Parmigiano.

Whisk the egg with a tablespoon of  water to make a wash, and brush this mixture on the edges of the pastry.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the puff pastry has risen and lightly browned.   Begin checking around 20 minutes in case your tart is done in less time.  Remember all ovens vary and so do the moisture levels in the tomatoes.

Cut into squares and enjoy with a green salad.

Lemon-Vanilla Tart

My favorite fruit for dessert is lemon. Lemon cake, lemon cookies, lemon meringue pie, lemon bars you get the idea. When I stumbled across this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine it instantly caught my eye. The candied lemon slices on top of this tart looked beautiful and after reading the instructions I was surprised that all the steps were pretty easy. I don’t normally make desserts likes this tart but the whole point of this blog is for me to try new things right? Right.

The tart itself was fantastic. Crispy flaky crust full of buttery goodness topped with a creamy filling flavored with heavy doses of lemon and vanilla. How can any of that be bad?

The downfall, sadly there is one, came with the candied lemon slices. Yes, they were easy to make. Yes, they were beautiful, golden yellow gems. Yes, they smelled heavenly as they cooked. BUT, they tasted terrible! Everyone has seen, heard or read the advice regarding the pith of citrus fruits. It is bitter. That is why when zesting the rind you only take the colored parts. Well there was no way to avoid the pith on these candied lemon slices, and unfortunately once I placed them on the tart, that bitterness leached into the top layer of the filling. Next time, yes there will be a next time, I will top the tart with powdered sugar and forget about the candied lemon slices. This time around though, I just scrapped the top little bit off and enjoyed a slice of lemon tart...afterI threw away the candied lemon slices.

Lemon-Vanilla Tart
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens by A Cook's Quest
Tart pastry
½ c cold butter
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
Dash of salt
1 eggs yolk
1 T ice water

Filling
2 lemons
½ c sugar
1 T all-purpose flour
2 eggs
¼ c melted butter
1 ½ T real vanilla

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the cold butter, until the pieces are the size of small peas. Mix together the egg yolk and water. Add to flour mixture. Add 2 to 4 T more water, 1 T at a time until all the dough is moistened. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Heat oven to 450 F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 11-inch circle. Wrap the pastry around a rolling pin. Ease the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Trim the edges even with the pan. Line the pastry with a double thickness of foil. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 5 to 6 minutes more or until crust is gold. Cool on wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350.

Finely shred 4 teaspoons of peel from the lemons. Set aside. Squeeze enough juice from lemons to measure 6 T; set aside.

In a medium bowl combine sugar and flour. Add eggs and beat with and electric mixer on medium speed for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture is light in color and slightly thick. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice, butter and vanilla. Pour into the pastry shell. Place tart pan on a cookie sheet.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until filling is set and lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. Top with candied lemon slices or powdered sugar if desired.

Candied Lemon Slices
Line a cookie sheet that has sides with parchment paper. Cut 2 small lemons crosswise into 1/8-¼ inch thick slices. Arrange in a single layer on pan. Sprinkle lemon slices with ¼ cup sugar. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven 45-50 minutes or until lemons are almost dry and covered with a sugary glaze. While still warm loosen from parchment paper to prevent sticking.

Total Cost- Inexpensive probably less than $3.00
If you have butter, sugar and eggs on hand this recipe is very inexpensive. The lemons cost me .25 each so $1.00 total there. The butter was about .50 and I'm going to guess the rest at around $1.00-1.50.