Heirloom Tomato Tart
This celebration of late summer heirloom tomatoes is a deep dish tart with a creamy base of ricotta that sandwiches soft strips of prosciutto, all topped by thin ripe slices of heirloom tomatoes.
Ingredients
Pate Brisee
- 1⅓ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 egg yolk
Tart Filling
- 3-4 slices prosciutto
- 8 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- Drizzle olive oil
- salt, pepper, red pepper to taste
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese
- 1-2 heirloom tomatoes, thin sliced
- Parmigiano Reggiano to taste
- basil, for garnish
Instructions
For the Pate Brisee recipe from James Beard Foundation
- Add the flour, salt, butter, and egg/lemon juice mixture into a food processor. If doing by hand, add to a bowl. Pulse/mix until the dough adheres to itself and forms a ball. I add additional 1-3 tablespoons of ice water if the dough feels too dry. It took closer to a minute for me, but make sure to not over mix.
- Remove the dough and knead for a moment by hand, forming it into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate–I sometimes freeze–for 30 minutes or more.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Once the dough is ready, leave it out for a few minutes and flour a work surface, along with your rolling pin. Roll the dough out to a ½ inch thickness and fold over the rolling pin. Gently lay the dough over the greased tart tin. Unfold the other half of the dough and gently tuck into the bottom and sides of the tin. Roll your rolling pin over the top to cut the dough at the edges, and move around the tart, pressing each groove in a bit more, allowing for a little extra dough to pop above the flutes.
- Add your double layer of foil and baking weights and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and blind bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remember, you will be baking further so do not allow the tart to bake too dark.
For the Filling
- In a bowl, add the ricotta, egg, olive oil, parsley, salt, and pepper/red pepper. Whisk vigorously until combined. You want the ricotta to be creamy and not to stiff, but not loose or watery.
To Assemble/Bake
- In your blind baked crust, lay your strips of prosciutto. Add in the ricotta mixture, followed by the mozzarella. You can sprinkle a little parmesan over the top, and then lay your layer of tomatoes. Do not overcrowd them or over layer them too much.
- Sprinkle more parmesan over the top and any additional oil or salt/pepper. Bake at 375 degrees for an additional 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and the filling is bubbling, tomatoes soft.
- Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from the tin. Garnish with basil. Can keep refrigerated for a few days, and is one of the best ways to enjoy your late summer heirloom tomatoes.
