I have to admit, I’ve eaten a lot of tomatoes this summer. And this time of year, when I feel the season coming to a quick close, I find myself savoring them in just about every way I can. My favorite way is always the simplest: straight from the garden, sliced and sprinkled with a little bit of salt and pepper. But last night I was having dinner with friends and decided to make this tart. It’s really easy to make, even though the dough takes a bit of time, it’s well worth the effort. I decided to add in some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to the dough for the crust which gave it a subtle, salty bite. It’s a great way to enjoy the end of summer tomatoes and a perfect recipe to share with friends.
You can make this recipe in a tart pan, or as a galette as I’ve done here. A galette is a more free-form way to go (and doesn’t require a special tart pan if you don’t have one) and it’s very forgiving when you assemble it. To make this recipe into individual tarts, simply divide dough into 4 equal portions, wrap each one individually and place three of them in the freezer for later use, up to 1 month.
1 1/4 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated, divided
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra to taste
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 8 pieces
2-4 tablespoons ice water
4 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
2 heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced*
1 egg, beaten
Cornmeal, for dusting
Fresh arugula or field greens, for garnish
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, for serving
1. Make dough. In a food processor, combine flour, 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add butter and process until mixture becomes coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. With machine running, add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together, no more than 30 seconds. Dough should not be wet or sticky. Test finished dough by squeezing a small amount of dough together to see if it holds its shape. If still crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
2. Wrap dough in plastic and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate for about 1 hour.
3. Place a pizza stone in oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
4. Lightly flour a pizza peel and set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, combine goat cheese, parsley and thyme and season with salt and pepper.
6. On a lightly-floured surface, gently roll dough into a large circle, making sure not to get dough too thin. Transfer dough to pizza peel. Spread tart dough with goat cheese mixture, leaving about a 1 1/2-inch border around outside edge. Add tomatoes, overlapping slightly in a circle over cheese. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano over tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Fold up pastry, pleating as you go. Brush outside edge of dough with egg and sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano over top of tart.
7. Gently dust cornmeal onto hot pizza stone. Transfer tart to pizza stone and bake for 30-35 minutes, until crust is lightly golden brown. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing. Top with greens and a drizzle of olive oil before serving.
Makes 1 tart.
*If the tomatoes are really juicy, take out the seeds of most of them so that the tart isn’t too wet.
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