Rustic Tomato-Basil Tart

I got a little carried away with the heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market this week. In an effort to use some of them up, I tried this recipe found in an old issue of Cooking Light Magazine. I used half red heirloom and half yellow heirloom tomatoes but you can use regular tomatoes and all red ones if yellow are not available. If you have a bounty of tomatoes either from the market or right from your own garden you will definitely want to give this tart a try.

Rustic Tomato-Basil Tart

recipe courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine

1 ½ pounds medium yellow tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

1 ½ pounds medium red tomatoes, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons fat-free sour cream

1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal

¼ cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

½ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced

1/3 cup shredded fontina cheese (1 ½ ounces)

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped

¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Arrange tomato slices in a single layer on several layers of paper towels; sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Let stand 20 minutes; blot dry with paper towels.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place corn, juice, and sour cream in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Combine 1½ cups flour, ¼ cup cornmeal, and ½ teaspoon salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add corn mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Knead gently 3 or 4 times.  

Slightly overlap 2 16-inch sheets of plastic wrap on a slightly damp surface. Place dough on plastic wrap; press into a 6-inch circle. Cover with 2 additional sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Roll dough, still covered, into a 14-inch circle; place on a large baking sheet in freezer 10 minutes or until plastic wrap can be easily removed. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; sprinkle paper with 1 tablespoon cornmeal. Remove 2 sheets of plastic wrap from dough. Place dough, plastic wrap side up, on baking sheet. Remove top sheets of plastic wrap.

Combine ¼ cup basil, cheese, and oregano. Combine 2 tablespoons flour and ¼ teaspoon salt. Arrange cheese mixture on dough, leaving a 1 ½-inch border. Using a sifter or sieve, sift 1 tablespoon flour mixture over cheese mixture.  Arrange half of tomatoes over cheese mixture. Sift remaining flour mixture over tomatoes; top with remaining tomatoes. Fold edges of dough toward center; press to seal (dough will only partially cover tomatoes). 

Bake at 400ºF for 35 minutes or until crust is brown; let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with ¼ cup basil and pepper. 

Yield: 6 wedges