Rustic Pesto and Heirloom Tomato Tart
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| Rustic Pesto and Heirloom Tomato Tart |
Rustic Pesto and Heirloom Tomato Tart: Heirloom tomatoes are some of the most impressively colorful vegetables out there. They range from dark purple to sunshine yellow, and can be as small as a Roma tomato or as big as a navel orange. You’ll find the best ones at the best prices in July and August when they’re in season, but no matter when you get them, use them quickly. Their shelf life is shorter than that of their classic red brethren. If you can’t find heirloom tomatoes in your area, you can make this recipe with Roma or plum tomatoes instead.
MAKES 1 TART
$1.26 PER SERVING
Ingredients for Rustic Pesto and Heirloom Tomato Tart recipe
Dough
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
Pesto
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup fresh spinach leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
To Assemble
- 12 ounces small heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 3 Campari or small Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- Cornmeal, for dusting
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
How to make Rustic Pesto and Heirloom Tomato Tart?
Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and salt. Blend in the olive oil, then gradually add water, using up to ½ cup, until you can form the dough into a ball. Loosely wrap the dough in plastic wrap and press it into a disk. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Make the pesto: In a food processor, combine all the pesto ingredients and process to a smooth paste.
Assemble the tart: Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
While still wrapped loosely in plastic wrap, gently roll the dough into an even circle. Brush with some of the pesto. Then, place a layer of the tomato slices on the dough, overlapping them slightly and leaving a ½-inch edge clear for the crust. Make two to three layers of tomato slices, drizzling a little pesto between each layer and saving the most colorful tomatoes for the top layer. Using a spoon, place dollops of pesto across the top of the tart in any spots where the tomatoes have left pockets. Drizzle the pesto oil over the top, then sprinkle evenly with the pine nuts. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the filling, leaving the center exposed.
Dust a pizza stone or cookie sheet with cornmeal. Gently move the tart to the pizza stone or cookie sheet. Sprinkle two pinches of salt and pepper over the top of your tart.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown.
PINE NUTS AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES
Pine nuts can be expensive, mostly due to the fact that they come in packages that contain way more than you actually need. If you can find bulk pine nuts, you can get about a handful for less than $5, which is even more than you’ll need for the above recipe. The same goes for sun-dried tomatoes. Prepackaged sun-dried tomatoes are often more expensive than if you just grab a few from the salad bar at your local grocery store.
