My tomatoes are almost here! Sadly, this year I have only planted patio tomatoes. I gave up my vegetable garden this year because the last few seasons have been too hot and dry and the deer and squirrels felt the garden was grown for them. This year I will have to rely on the farmers market for my tomato needs, because the store bought ones lack the flavor of a good homegrown one. Here is a great tomato recipe that I adapted from one Martha made on her show. I use a refrigerated pie crust for mine, they taste good and are a lot less hassle. This makes a great dinner with a nice big green salad on the side.
Tomato Tart
1 head garlic
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 refrigerated pie crust, room temperature
1 cup smoked mozzarella, grated
1 1/2 pounds firm but ripe tomatoes (4 medium) cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
salt and pepper
fresh chives, chopped for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place garlic in foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil. Wrap and place in oven. Bake about 45 minutes, until soft and golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside. Raise oven temp to 450. When garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves from their skins into a small bowl; mash with fork and set aside.
Roll out pie crust and place into 10 inch tart pan with removable bottom, press into sides. Trim dough to be flush with edges; transfer to refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
Spread garlic evenly over crust. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Arrange tomatoes over cheese in overlapping circular pattern. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil. Transfer to oven. Reduce temperature to 400 degrees and bake until crust is golden, about 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool 20 minutes. Serve warm.
