“End of Summer” Tomato & Onion Tart

Successfully making a “Summer Tomato Gazette” has been on my “to do” list of culinary tasks for several years now. I have visions of turning juicy and ripe heirloom and cherry tomatoes into a savory “gazette” or free-form pie. But wait….summer flew by. I see no more of those wonderful garden tomatoes in any farmer’s market or grocery. I soon forgot about the idea. Then my husband noticed an article in the newspaper about a Martha Stewart’s “Tomato Pie” recipe and reminded me of how much he would like a tomato pie. Oh my, I decided to give it one last shot. I gathered together all the recipes which I’d saved under the topic of “tomato pies” and purchased a large basket of tomatoes for the recipe. My final tomato tart is not exactly what I had in mind originally, but the pie turned out to be quite delicious.

“Summer Tomato Gazette” recipes gets the back burner

I love tomatoes in any shape or form. I always look forwards to summer to get my yearly “fix” of juicy, ripe tomatoes. What better way to showcase tomatoes than in a “Tomato Gazette?” For example, here’s a free-form tomato pie which I made last year with cherry and grape tomatoes from my garden. Although I have had good intentions to post the recipe, something wasn’t quite right; I think the cheese distracted from the tart. The project got put on the back burner.

After my husband reminded me of how much we both might like a “tomato pie,” I decided to start over “from scratch.” I compiled all the recipes in my “tomato pie” idea folder, including the recipe which my husband found in the Advocate newspaper, and came up with my own version calling it “End of Summer Tomato & Caramelized Tart.”

Recipe Ingredients and Preparation

Here are the ingredients for my tomato tart ….in addition to the pie shell. It actually turned out to be a very simple recipe. However, some preparation is necessary to get the ingredients ready to place into the pie shell.

Tomatoes.…no more anymore heirloom tomatoes in markets in November. Use whatever ripe tomatoes you can find. This included Big-Boy type tomatoes, Roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. However, usually store-purchased are not very juicy. I let my tomatoes to sit on the counter for several days to ripen. Oops, then they began to spoil. Time to quickly make the tart. To get the tomatoes ready, slice and set on a plate to let excess juices drain.

Whole Garlic Clove….Martha Stewart’s recipe included an roasted garlic. Wow, now that sounds like a delicious addition to the pie. I love garlic. To get the garlic ready, wrap the entire clove — peel and all — in foil. Roast for 45 minutes. (A small air fryer would be prefect for this task.) Then cut the clove in half crosswise and squeeze the soft garlic into the pie shell.

Fresh basil….For flavor, I added fresh basil from my garden and sprinkled it over the cheese in the tart around the tomatoes. As fresh herbs can be unpredictable in intensity, I also included dried thyme in the ingredients. My basil has been growing in pots outside my kitchen all summer and fall. So easy to go outside and just pinch off a few springs.

Caramelized Sweet onion.…I love the combination of tomatoes and onion. So, I added sweet, white onion slices to the pie. To tone down the raw flavor, I sautéed the slices in olive oil in over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the onion was soft and caramelized.

Cheese…should I include cheese? Many types of cheeses were mentioned my recipe ideas file….fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Asiago cheese, stracciatella cheese, burrata, Goat cheese, cream cheese. The cheese I’d originally purchased for the pie is long since gone. I did locate shredded mozzarella cheese in my refrigerator and added a small amount. It was rubbery. I’m still undecided about the cheese and plan to try a few other types in the future. Or just omit it entirely.

Pie Crust…..Use either a purchased pie crust or make your own. I made a traditional pie crust recipe rather than trying assemble a “free-form” tomato pie. I have included my food processor process for making a pie shell after the recipe at the end of the post.

Assembling the Tart

After all the ingredients are pre-prepped, assemble the tart.

Squeeze the roasted garlic over the bottom of the pie crust. Sprinkle on the cheese and then the carmelized onions. Sprinkle on the fresh basil. Arrange the tomatoes slices artfully on top. Sprinkle on salt, pepper and dried thyme. Then, drizzle olive oil generously over the tomatoes.

To keep the crimped top edge of the pie shell from burning, I wrapped it in aluminum foil (And, removed it for the final 5 minutes of baking.)

Bake the pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature and bake for 30 minutes. No need to “pre-bake” the pie shell. The hot 425 degrees “sets” the crust so that it isn’t soggy.

Let cool until the tart can be handled. Slice and serve.

The flavors of my tomato pie all melded together. That is, except for the cheese. Mozzarella cheese was rubbery — this pie needs either a soft-type cheese or no cheese at all. I do recommend drizzling olive oil over the top of the tomatoes as it enhanced the tomato flavor. The fresh basil gave a little flavor “pop.” The roasted garlic was difficult to detect — but that flavor needs to be subtle, so it is okay. The caramelized onions was a last minute addition. I love onions, but may try to omit them in my next pie — and I know I’ll be making more tomato pies.

Although it is still 80 degrees in Louisiana, summer is officially over. I’ll return all the “tomato pie” recipes to my file cabinet. Maybe free-form version next summer? In the mean time, enjoy one last taste of summer.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb assorted, ripe tomatoes (Big-Boy type, Roma, cherrry tomatoes)
• 1 entire garlic clove, with thin paper husk 
• 1 large white, sweet onion, peeled and sliced into thin slices
• 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or substitute Goat cheese or cream cheese), optional
• 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, optional
• 1 prepared, unbaked pie crust (9″-diameter)

Method and Steps:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (to roast garlic).
2. Slice tomatoes into 1/4″ slices, trimming off ends and core. Slice cherry tomatoes into halves. Plase on plate to drain. Set aside.
3. Wrap entire clove of garlic, including thin paper husk, in aluminum foil. Roast in oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. (May use small air fryer.) Remove and cool to room temperature. Cut crosswise and extrude out the soft garlic pulp. Set aside. Turn oven temperature up to 425 degrees.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion slices. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion wilts and caramelizes (begins to turn brown.) Remove from stove and set aside.
5. To assemble tart, spread the roasted garlic pulp into the bottom of the pie shell. Evenly sprinkle on the shredded cheese. Top with the caramelized onions. Sprinkle on fresh, chopped basil. Next, arrange the tomato slices over the top. Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes.
6. Sprinkle on dried thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Wrap the top crimped edge of the pie shell with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
8. Make sure oven temperature is set to 425 degrees. Bake pie for 15 minutes.
9. Lower temperature of oven to 350 degrees. Bake pie for 25 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake pie for 5 additional minutes.
10. Remove from oven. Cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.

Pie Crust Recipe

My food processor recipe makes this it easy to mix up a pie crust. The ingredients for this pie shell are all-purpose flour, butter, salt and ice water. Keeping the ingredients cold will help keep the crust tender as the butter should not melt; rather, it needs to remain in tiny pieces..

To make the pie shell, mix the flour and salt in the food processor bowl. Then cut butter into the flour using pulsing “on” and “off” motions. Add ice water and process continuously until dough forms into a fall. Chill in refrigerator for about an hour. However, if the dough is chilled, I will roll it out immediately. Use a well floured pastry board and rotate the dough as you go. So simple and this process makes “a perfect pie crust” every time.