I am not complaining at the least bit, but man, so,so,so many tomatoes. Everyday more and more are ripe and ready for the picking, some even starting to fall off the plants.
If you were to come to my house, you will notice that I have bowls and baskets all over the place, just full of not just cherry tomatoes, but big baskets of the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes this girl has ever seen. It's actually causing me a little anxiety. I cannot bare to think of one single tomato going bad. I and am on a mission to eat as many of the heirloom ones as I can ever day. But that still leaves all the sweet little cherry tomatoes, which I do still snack on, (and try and make the mr snack on too) but am having a had time keeping up with eating all of those on top of the other kinds. But again, not a complaint, cause one can never really have too many tomatoes.
So instead of just continuing to make sauces and soups, (I have yet to do a tomato canning day, which is in need of happing asap) I figured I would give the mr a break and make him something a little different. A big tomato slab tart. And a tart needs some type of cream, so fresh corn and avocado cream happened as well.
Lovely looking, yummy, and pretty easy to make. Uses a good amount of tomatoes (I was fooled.. I used two pints for this tart, went to garden afterword, got 4 more pints) and is perfect for a lunch situation or a light dinner. Add some greens, maybe some cheese (the mr and his cheese) and you are sitting pretty and ready to go.
Lets get tarting!
The stuff… For the tart we have flour, slat, a little vinegar, icy cold water, frozen olive oil* and a big bowl of cherry tomatoes. For the avocado and corn cream, well we gots an avocado, a cooked cob of corn,a few cloves of garlic (I forgot in the picture) and a lemon. Salt and pepper for everything.
*Note. I recently read on the food 52 website that freezing the olive oil for crust makes the oil distribute more like butter and makes the dough super flaky and crispy, which it indeed did. I will forever freeze oil for oil crusts, Thanks food 52 for being so smart.
Start by making the dough. Whisk together the flour and salt, then dump in the frozen olive oil. Using a fork or a pastry cutter and working as quick as you can, cut the oil into the dough.
When the mixture resembles a course crumb, add in vinegar and mix with fork, then add in water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough starts to comes together. Dump mixture out onto a floured surface and form into ball. Wrap in plastic and stick in the fridge for at least an hour or even over night.
Chilled dough placed on a lightly floured surface, ready to roll.
You know what to do here.. roll it out and stick it in a baking sheet or, if you don't have a small baking sheet, use a large casserole dish. You could use a pie plate, but you might have a little extra dough (pie dough cookies?)
And dump in the tomatoes. Don't forget to remove the little green tops if they have them. Drizzle with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper. and into the oven it goes.
While the tart is baking, make the cream. Scoop fruit of avocado, the corn off the cob, a clove or two of garlic, juice of lemon, and salt to taste, into a blender (or bowl if using a immersion blender) and blend until smooth. Taste and ass more swooning if needed. and if you want the cream a little thinner, add in a slash of water.
Cream oh creamy goodness. (So great on tart, but also makes a great dip, toast spread, salad topper, or eaten straight with a spoon.)
The tart has been baking and after about an 45 minutes, it should be done. Remove from oven when the tomatoes have all bursted and are starting to caramelize and the crust is cooked through and golden brown,
Let cool for a few minutes. I
You got you tart, the cream, and if you are in into it, a nice serving of some freshy greens to some extra heft and color…SOmething on the more bitter side like kale or young chard pairs very well with the sweetness of the tomatoes.
A big slab on greens with cream on slab.
The mr added a little cheese to his… if your a cheese person.(he sure likes his cheese)
Pretty food.. Food so good!
Happy Humpty hump!
-C
Cherry Tomato Slab tart with Oil Crust and a Corn Avocado Cream
For the Tart
- 2 pints of any variety cherry tomatoes. A variety look nice
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup olive oil (frozen ahead of time)
- 1 teaspoon salt for crust
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3-4 tablespoons ice water
- salt and pepper
- 9x11 baking pan*
For the Corn Avocado Cream
- 1 cooked and cooled cob of corn
- 1 avocado
- 1 lemon
- salt
- 2 cloves of garlic
*Note. I used a 9x11 baking sheet, but if you don't have one, you can use a big glass casserole dish. Or you could even use a pie plate, but you will end up with a little extra dough and you might not need all the tomatoes.
Start by making your dough. Whisk together the flour and salt. Cut in the frozen olive oil into flour with either a pastry cutter or a big fork until it has a crumbly texture. Add in the apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of water at a time until dough starts to come together.(about 3-4)
Dump out onto a surface and fomr into a disk. Wrap with plastic and stick in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375
Get your chilled dough and, on a lightly floured surface,roll out into a rectangle roughly the size of your baking sheet. Place in sheet pan and make it look pretty. You can use your fingers to lightly press the dough into pan Dump in your cherry tomatoes. If you want, once the tomatoes are in, slightly fold the edges towards the tomatoes and away form the side of the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the finest drizzle of olive oil. Stick into the oven for about 45-55 minutes. The Pie is done when the tomatoes have popped and starting to brown and caramelize and the crust is golden brown.
While the pie is baking, remove corn from cob. Add to a blender with the avocado, garlic and and the juice of the lemon. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, slice big slabs of tart and spoon on big globs of the avocado corn cream. If your into it, a bed of fresh greens is very much nice.
Shovel into face.