August 25th

Garden Fresh

We have had an abundance of tomatoes from our garden lately.  I have been waiting all summer for the tomatoes to come so I could make this recipe and the day is finally here!  It was worth the wait.  This is another one that I'm sorry I can't eat again till next year!

Tarte Aux Tomates (Tomato Tart)
recipe from: The French Kitchen Cookbook

This is so simple to make and tastes so fresh and delicious.  It almost tastes like a thick-crust pizza without cheese.  We eat it as a main dish, but it would make an excellent side dish as well.

Ingredients:
for the pie dough:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 sticks butter
• 1 tbs chopped oregano, plus extra to garnish
• about 1/3 cup cold water

for the filling:

• 2 tbs butter
• 1 tbs sugar
• 9 small tomatoes, halved
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  To make the filling, melt the butter in a heavy saucepan.  Add the sugar and stir over high heat until just turning golden brown.  Remove from the heat and quickly add the tomatoes, garlic, and white vinegar, stirring to coat evenly.  Season with salt and pepper
2. Transfer the tomatoes to a 9 inch cake pan (I used a pie pan), spreading them evenly cut side down.
3. To make the dough, place the flour, salt, butter, and oregano in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.  Add just enough water to bind to a soft, but not sticky dough.  Roll out the dough to a 10 inch circle and place it over the tomatoes, tucking in the edges.  Pierce with a fork to let out steam.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until firm and golden.  Rest for 2-3 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and turn out onto a warm serving plate.  
5. Sprinkle the tart with chopped oregano, and serve immediately. 

Grades:

Megan - A+ (I love this one [so does Doug].  It looks beautiful and tastes beautiful.  It also appears much more impressive that it actually is.  It's deceivingly easy to make.)

Noelle - D+ (I thought Noelle was going to love this one because she is obsessed with tomatoes.  I was wrong.  I think I made a mistake because I told her it was pizza.  Then when she ate it and was expecting pizza, she was like, this obviously is not pizza.  Plus even though she acts like a little tomato-addict and can't get enough tomatoes from our garden, for some reason she is never a fan of them when they are cooked.  She ate a few bites of this and wanted me to take the tomatoes off.  Then she ate a little of the bread.  I also think she might have been a little turned off by the vinegar in the recipe (which doesn't taste strong at all to me, but might to her little tongue.)