Fresh Tomato Tart

Perfect for brunch, this tomato tart has an impressive presentation and a succulent taste. This dish is a great way to highlight the flavor of fresh, homegrown tomatoes. Serve with a salad.

Fresh Tomato Tart

Perfect for brunch, this tomato tart has an impressive presentation and a succulent taste. This dish is a great way to highlight the flavor of fresh, homegrown tomatoes. Serve with a salad.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups plus 2 teaspoons fresh breadcrumbs
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing over tart
  • 1 tsp Italian herb mix
  • ¼ cup milk (optional)
  • 1 cup whole- or skim-milk ricotta cheese
  • ½ cup plus 2 tsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
  • 2 Tbsp fresh basil, minced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 to 1½ pounds tomatoes, cored and thinly sliced

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 450° F.
  • In a 9-inch pie pan, toss 2 cups breadcrumbs with ¼ cup olive oil. If breadcrumbs are very crunchy or dry, add ¼ milk. Press evenly into bottom and slightly up the sides.
  • In a bowl, whisk ricotta with ½ cup Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper. Pour over crust.
  • Arrange tomato slices over top, overlapping them slightly. Brush with additional olive oil and sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs and 2 teaspoons Parmesan. Bake until tomatoes are almost dry, about 35 to 45 minutes.
  • Set pan on a rack to cool. Serve at room temperature.
Fresh Tomato Tart Recipe
Perfect for a luncheon, this tomato tart has an impressive presentation and a succulent taste. This dish is a great way to highlight the flavor of your fresh, homegrown tomatoes.

Featured Ingredient: Sweet Basil

Basil is most commonly paired with tomatoes, and in the summertime, there isn't much that can beat a fresh tomato slice with minced basil. Yet basil complements a wide variety of delicious foods, and is an excellent herb to grow yourself. Not only will doing so be more cost-effective than buying it at the grocery store, but you'll be able to pick just the amount you want when you need it. Sweet basil is very aromatic, with a flavor that is sweeter than that of other varieties, and has just a hint of pepper and mint. It can be grown in a small pot on a windowsill inside for several months. For more abundant harvests and variety, grow a few different types in a container or in a garden bed outside. Basil is a warm weather plant, but it also stores nicely after harvest when pureed with water or oil, or turned into pesto, then frozen. For the fullest flavor when using fresh basil in a hot dish, add it within the last 5 or 10 minutes of cooking time. Learn how easy it is to grow your own basil.

How to Grow Basil: growing basil plants in herb garden
You can grow a lot of basil in a vegetable garden, where it is handy for a big harvest to make pesto. This is sweet basil.