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Heirloom Tomato Tart
![Heirloom Tomato Tart](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/12/20/dining/17Tartrex/merlin_174651783_cd14fa9e-f2e3-4393-a61f-5aad5774497a-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- Dough for a 9-inch single crust pie, or use store-bought, rolled into an 11-inch round (see Note)
- 1½pounds ripe heirloom tomatoes (about 4 medium)
- ¼cup store-bought pesto
- ¾cup shredded mozzarella (about 3 ounces)
- 1tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
- 1tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
- 3large eggs
- ⅓cup heavy cream
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Fit the rolled-out dough into a 9-inch tart pan, allowing the edges to rise about ¼ inch above the rim of the pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork.
- Step 2
Line the dough with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes until beginning to brown at the edges. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil and weights. Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes into ½-inch slices. Place in a colander to drain excess tomato liquid for 20 minutes.
- Step 4
Spread ¼ cup pesto in an even layer over the parbaked tart crust. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the pesto. Sprinkle the fresh basil and oregano over the cheese.
- Step 5
In a medium bowl, prepare the custard: Whisk together the eggs, cream, salt and pepper until combined.
- Step 6
Place the sliced tomatoes evenly over the cheese and herbs in overlapping concentric circles.
- Step 7
Pour the custard evenly over the tomato slices. Swirl the pan to evenly distribute the liquid. Bake until the filling is set and won’t jiggle when shaken, about 35 minutes.
- Step 8
Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving warm. This tart can also be served at room temperature.
- Packaged pie dough is an excellent shortcut for weeknight meals, and the tart crust can be parbaked a day in advance.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Tip from Cathy Barrow which has worked for me - put an upside down sheet pan in oven as you preheat and place tart pan on top to cook. Really helps eliminate that soggy bottom.
This was a really terrific dish! All the best flavors of pizza and quiche rolled into one. My whole family loved it, including my youngest, who is a very picky eater. I had to increase the cook time by about 5 minutes to get it to firm up because of the juices released by the tomatoes during baking. I also found that letting it rest for 20-30 minutes after it came out of the oven really helped it to firm up. Delicious!
Made it and it was terrific. BUT why not change the order of the instructions to read "First slice and drain tomatoes in colander for 20 minutes, etc. Prepare crust. While tomatoes are draining, bake the prepared crust as directed and proceed with the recipe. "
Earlier this summer, I switched from heavy cream to Carnation Evaporated Milk as an alternative in quiche-like custards. At the time, I was working on getting my triglycerides down, but this pantry product, which has a great shelf life and added Vitamin D, worked so well with the fresh herbs and tomatoes that I didn't notice a flavor difference (...and I'm pretty cranky about flavor). With 30 fewer calories per tbls, I likely won't go back to full cream after taste testing this healthier option.
Low moisture mozzarella is important given how much liquid the tomatoes release. Also, suggest salting the tomatoes while they drain and then gently applying pressure to release the maximum water. Definitely great flavors.
Cook’s has a recipe like this where they put a thin layer of grated Parmesan over the parbaked crust, which keeps the tomato juices/liquid ingredients from making the bottom soggy.
Skipped the dough and it was the best Sunday brunch omelette
Great recipe exactly as it is! I read some of the notes below and prepared the tomatoes with a few extra steps to avoid the liquid from tomatoes. Salted and drained in a colander for 30 mins, patted with paper towels until mostly dry, then I roasted them in the oven at 375* for 30 mins which extruded a lot more water. They were perfect in the tart and nothing was soggy! Super delicious.
Listening to the point about the wetness of the tomatoes, I put them on top of the custard, into which I had grated the cheese for a more solid initial consistency. They sank in nicely but the excess water evaporated and the custard shielded the bottom from getting soggy. The top ended up nicely textured as a result, also. Cooking time might have been extended but I have a crappy oven so I always need to fiddle (turn around part way through, etc), so I am not a good barometer.
So, when I am draining the tomatoes I drain them into a bowl and not the sink. I use the juices when I make veg stock which I do each week with left over vegetable pieces, corn cobs, onion skins, parsley stems, etc. I also save the halves of a squeezed lemon to throw in along with stems from greens, etc. The stock can be used right away or frozen for later.
Delicious. Easy. I made my own crust, using my trusty Martha Stewart recipe. When I make this again, which I will, I'd pre-bake the crust at 375 F instead of 350 F to make sure the bottom crust is fully set. To quote Mary Barry, nobody likes a soggy bottom. More pesto, less cheese.
Made this for dinner tonight with the first heirloom tomatoes to ripen in my garden - Cherokee Purple - and it was fantastic. Will be a regular summer dinner from now on. The recipe is delicious as is, and I’m already thinking of variations - sub gruyère for the mozzarella and add bacon; add spinach; try other types of pesto. This is a keeper!
I can’t say enough good things about this tomato tart. It is perfect every time and (shockingly) as photogenic as the NYT image!!! I use alternating red and green tomatoes, and added a tsp of Dijon mustard to the egg mixture. For my homemade pesto, which has a lot less oil than store bought versions, I press it down with my fingers to cover the bottom crust. Also, the better the cheese, the better the flavor. Gruyere, goats milk... And 45 min at 350 in a convention oven.
Made this for dinner tonight, along with a tossed salad - it tasted as wonderful as it looked! I took the advice of a commenter below and sliced the tomatoes, put them on a large rimmed pan and roasted them at 350 deg. to dry out some of their juice. Found 10 minutes wasn’t long enough, so roasted them for 18 minutes, perfect! Doubled the custard, pesto and mozzarella and will definitely make again, husband and son each gave it a 10!
This was great! Only changes I made: Used parchment paper instead of foil and (couldn't help myself) added a generous sprinkle of Parmesan on top. Changes I'll make next time: -Let tomatoes drain on toweling and pat dry-they were really wet. -Maybe add more mozzerella. -Thought the ratio of tomatoes vs. Custard was off-would have preferred more of the custard.
Followed other readers suggestions for the long blind bake of the store bought piecrust as well as baking tomato slices until dry. Also grated Parm and lined the baked crust. Even without purchasing or making pesto, the flavor resembled a slice of pizza! I did use oregano, basil and garlic ( all dry, not fresh) because that is what I had on hand; put the sliced tomatoes on top of the custard mix. Mozzarella had some provolone mixed in already. Helpful recipe to use up extra tomatoes!
Flavor-wise, this tomato tart is delicious. What the recipe does not say, is that, in the first step, the crust needs to be blind baked until completely done. 15 minutes at 350 is not enough, and results will be soggy if you proceed with filling the tart pan after the amount of time stated. My two pieces of advice: blind bake the tart shell until entirely done, and salt and drain the tomatoes well, patting the slices dry with paper towels as one commenter suggests.
This was underwhelming and bland Soggy crust and filling was too eggy Maybe another cheese besides mozzarella would give it some character I have many other tomato tarts that are superior to this one
One of my all time favorite summer dishes to make! I salt the tomatoes for about 1-2 hours and then bake at 220 for 1-1:30 to really remove the moisture. Added some feta to the mozzarella mixture recently and it was absolutely divine
I made this exactly as directed, although I didn't have "heirloom tomatoes." The beefsteak tomatoes from the supermarked worked well, however! This was delicious! (I also didn't have a tart pan so I used a 9" pie plate and it was perfect.)
Divine!! Even the next day cold, it was delicious.
Would it be possible to make this a crustless quiche by adding flour?
I keep a pizza stone in my lower oven, and find that pre-baking the crust on that for a few minutes prevents a soggy crust. Draining the tomatoes never seems to be enough; I roll the slices in several layers of paper towels and let them sit a while. And -- no heavy cream on hand? Plain 2% milk, beaten with about 1/4 cup mayonnaise and the eggs, makes a really creamy custard.
I just made two of these tonight, to serve for a quick wine and nibbles get together. This recipe is one of my favorite go-to entertaining or pot-luck recipes. I tend to use small, cherry type tomatoes, and in a pinch, when I can't find fresh Basil, I use cilantro pesto, and it's always a huge hit. I use GF flour mixed with Oat flour, which gives a wonderful grainy texture to the crust.
Good for using up tough little cherry tomatoes.
Salt tomatoes lightly to remove more water pre baking. Otherwise really delicious.
I had a roll of Pillsbury flaky biscuits that were never going to be used, so i pulled them apart in thin sheets, placed them right next to each other on my rolling surface, and rolled them into a flat dough sheet...i was surprised how good it turned out! I also used the abundance of cherry tomatoes i had from my garden that were rotting on my counter (i picked out the bad ones), and halved them for this. it was SO GOOD!!!! Great recipe!!!
I had all the ingredients except crust so I used a large tortilla so there was a base for the pesto and herbs. I used dry herbs it was delicious! Probably better with fresh herbs, though.
Recommendation: add the salt the tomatoes while draining. Do not add salt to the custard mix. The salt will pull out more moisture from the tomatoes; the less moisture in the tomatoes, the less watery the tart. (Insert Monty Python joke here.)
Other’s notes Sliced and put on a rimmed pan, roasted them 350° to dry out. Roasted them for 18 minutes, (diff for other sizes)perfect! Doubled the custard, pesto and mozzarella Blindly bake425° and decrease to 375° of cooking too fast. Salted and drained in a colander for 30 mins, patted with paper towels until mostly dry, then I roasted them in the oven at 375* for 30 min.
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