Tomato Bechamel Tart
Tart Times
I think by now, it’s fair to assume I’m obsessed by tarts. Summer is here, and that means tomatoes. I was determined to create a Tomato Bechamel Tart. It’s late spring, practically summer, and the luscious, coveted Heirloom Tomato isn’t quite ready yet, in my opinion–at least not in Brooklyn.
Then. I began back around with savory tarts. I found the best Pate Brisee recipe which is my go to now, from the James Beard Foundation. From there, anything is possible. I have a deep dish 7 inch tart pan, which I’ve been dying to use. I recently made a savory Pear tart that broke the limits of my taste buds it was so good. But, this time, I couldn’t resist using my trusty old fluted tart pan of 11 inches. It was for show, in a sense.
The Meaning of Ombre
Metaphors are lovely things in life. Sometimes, saying what you mean doesn’t reach people as much as speaking in metaphors. It is why reading the words of a certain story or poem can move you, because it speaks to something via something else, speaks to it without naming it.
It is why a film can speak in symbols visually, and tangentially create the straightest line possible to the heart of the matter. Oscar Wilde said, “give a man a mask and he will tell you the truth.”
Can a Tomato Tart Save the World?
How does this relate to tomato tarts you might ask? Right now, people are marching everywhere in this country for #blacklivesmatter. Here I am, a first generation Croatian American…I have never felt a part of “America,” not completely anyway. Neither here nor there. I am, despite myself, a part of this country and it sickens my heart to try and (from afar) know the lack of peace, opportunity, safety, and humanity for black Americans, here long before any of my relatives (and under far more harrowing circumstances.)
At the end of the day, though, I’m a food writer and blogger. What can I do help, other than by offering my support of those marching and by actively educating myself in the heroes and (often overlooked) history of African American cuisine in the “American” culinary landscape?
Well, today I can make a tomato tart of all colors. It sounds corny, I know. Flimsy, superficial, and goofy, perhaps to showcase the many hues and tones of the lovely summer tomato. It’s pretty simple. Don’t look at the metaphor directly. There is a wonderful quote by Antonine Artaud about the beauty of the setting sun arising out of the fact that we don’t look directly at it.
A Tart of All Colours
So, back to my tomato tart. It’s pretty simple, I was saying. The pale sunshine yellows lead to the deep mustard tones, followed upon by the light orange, the deep rust orange, the blood reds, and the deep green/brown reds that round out the Ombre of tomatoes.
It is a delicious bechamel chile pepper tart with rich tomatoes moving like waves from one hue to the next and back again, in a circle. One color doesn’t truly look like itself unless next to the other and vice versa. It’s a tart made by the hands of a half American, officially white but rarely thought of as being so, woman, who has empathy and not much else to offer, other than re-educating myself and reaching out, again and again.
Enjoy this tart, read a new story from a person whose perspective you didn’t have in the first place, be open to and at the same time question everything that comes your way, and enjoy all the colors that your eye and heart perceive.
Tomato Bechamel Tart
Equipment
- Tart Shell, I used an 11 inch, but you can do any size or depth, or free form.
Ingredients
For the Pate Brisee Tart Shell – use the James Beard recipe linked above
For the Bechamel
- 4 cups Milk
- ½ cup Butter
- ½ cups All purpose flour
- Pinch Nutmeg
- Pinch Salt
- ¼ tsp Red pepper flakes
- 1 cup Grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano
- 5 small Calabrian chiles or Thai Bird chiles, seeded & chopped
- Handful Basil leaves, chopped
For the Tomatoes
- 1 Quart Colorful tomatoes, cherry or grape for this style -chopped in half across.
Instructions
For the Tart Shell
- After you refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes, roll it out slightly larger than your tart tin if using one. Gently lay the rolled out dough into the greased tin, and carefully press the dough into the grooves on the side of the pan. You can allow a little extra thickness towards the tops of the sides, and then slice off the excess with a knife. Refrigerate the tart shell until needed.
For the Bechamel
- Warm the milk over medium-low heat, allowing it to stay just beneath a boil.
- Whisk the flour into a pan of melted butter over medium heat. Once incorporated, add the milk into the butter-flour pan, whisking all the while.
- Keep stirring steadily with a big whisk for about 10-15 minutes, or until the bechemel will thickens.
- Lower the heat and add the nutmeg, salt and pepper, followed by the cheese. Once incorporated, take off of the heat and mix in the chopped chiles and basil and any additional red pepper flake needed. Set aside to cool completely.
To Assemble the Tart
- Preheat the oven to 375 degees.
- Pour the cooled bechamel into the tart shell and smooth out evenly.
- Place the tomatoes (insides down/skins up) evenly across the tart. If using the cherry/grape tomatoes, make sure they are close together. I decided on shading colors, but you can distribute the colors in any way you like best, if using colorful tomatoes.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the tomatoes have wrinkled a bit and the tart dough has baked all the way through.
- Allow the tomato tart to cool on a wire rack. When ready (if using a tart tin), place the tin on an object at least 6 inches high. Slowly loosen the ring and remove it from the tart. You can leave the tart on the metal base and allow to cool or refrigerate for up to five days.
Notes
- When forming the tart shell dough into the tin, you can slice the excess off and then gently push a tiny bit from the sides so a little bit arises evenly at the tips of the tart pan sides. I find it shrinks when baking so this keeps things even.
- You can just as easily use regular size tomatoes and place then sliced on the top of the bechamel. I just loved the look of the cherry tomatoes, so that is why they require slicing in half and lining up face down.
- You can also add more herbs on the top of the tart — I wanted the bechamel to spruce up a bit in flavor, so I added the chiles and basil. You can get creative and add any complimentary flavor you like. Enjoy tomatoes this summer!