tomato + goat cheese tart with rosemary crust

Summer.

Tomatoes.

Summer. Tomatoes. Summer tomatoes. Summer tomatoes summer tomatoes summer tomatoes. The two words belong together, do they not?

With a high of 101° in Charlottesville today (real feel 115° to 120°...um, when did we move to the equator?!?), I am not finding a whole lot to be happy with Summer about at the moment. Except for tomatoes. We are overrun with summer's favorite fruit right now...big ones, little ones, red ones, orange ones. All picture frames and candles have been removed from my dining room sideboard to make way for our bounty from the farm. It is the official tomato storage and ripening spot in our house, a constantly revolving inventory of heirloom varieties. I've made pints of marinara to store away for winter, and have plans to can soups and salsas in the coming weeks. But still, my very favorite way to consume a perfectly ripe tomato is thickly sliced, with sea salt. It just doesn't get much better than that. Unless you sandwich one of those slices between two hunks of bread with some bacon...that's pretty darn good too.

Most of our meals this week involved, you guessed it, tomatoes. In sauce over pasta, in salsa on fish tacos, sliced with fresh mozzarella on pizza, the 'T' in our BLTs. And this lovely, simple, rustic tart. It breaks my 'don't turn on the oven' rule, but at least it isn't the stove top. 

First, I have to say again how much I love Jack Bishop's book, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. I have shared several recipes from there, here, and cannot praise it enough. We have been thrilled with every single dish we've made between its covers, and love how simple and quick they always are. This tart is no exception. The crust dough comes together beautifully and is so easy to work. The filling ingredients are simple. The whole tart is finished with just 15 minutes of prep time, which I love. If the crust weren't so butter-full we'd have this meal multiple days each week.

Be sure to only make this tart when tomatoes are at their peak...a pink and grainy 'mater just wouldn't do...

Tomato + Goat Cheese Tart with Rosemary Crust

from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, by Jack Bishop

Crust Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 4-5 tbsp ice water

Tart Filling

• 6 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled (about 1-1/3 cups)
• 3 medium, delicious tomatoes, cored, sliced crosswise 1/4-inch thick, and blotted dry between paper towels*
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• salt + freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. First, make the crust dough (about 1 hour before you're ready to assemble the tart). Place the flour, salt, and rosemary in a food processor and pulse several times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs, about ten 1-second pulses. Add the water, 1 tbsp at a time, and pulse briefly after each addition. After 4 tbsp of water have been added, process the dough for several seconds to see if it will come together. If not, add the remaining 1 tbsp water. Process just until the dough comes together in a rough ball. Do not overprocess or the dough will not be flakey. Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured work surface and knead briefly to for a smooth ball. Flatten the dough into a 5-inch disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.  Note: My dough was very sticky with just 4 tbsp of water, so I wound up adding some flour to help it to come together. The final dough should be smooth and supple before refrigerating. Also, if you don't have a food processor, you can still make the dough by using forks or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture, then add your water.
2. Move an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 375°. 
3. Unwrap the chilled dough and roll it into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Lay the dough over a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, fitting the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan. Run the rolling pin over the top of the tart pan to trim the excess dough. Prick the bottom of the tart shell all over with a fork.
4. Finally, fill and bake the tart. Scatter the goat cheese evenly across the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange the tomatoes over the cheese in two rings, one around the outside edge of the tart pan and another in the center, overlapping them slightly. Drizzle the tomatoes with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Bake until the edges of the crust pull away from the sides of the pan and are golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool the tart on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Cut the tart into wedges and serve.  Also, it is really good at room temperature so feel free to make this ahead and let it cool for several hours.

* To dry tomatoes, lay 3 layers of paper towels on a flat surface. Place your tomato slices on the paper towels, and then cover with 3 more layers of towels. Gently press your hands over the tomatoes to extract as much liquid as you can without crushing the tomatoes. When you lift the slices from the towels, many of the seeds should stay behind. This will keep your tart crust from becoming soggy.

swedish visiting cake

Spring. My backyard has gone from yellow to pink to white (or, daffodils to plum and apple blossoms).  Each afternoon over 60° has me longing to get outside, in the sunshine, with a glass of white wine in my hand. Preferably, with my husband or a girlfriend by my side and my dogs at my feet. This season brings with it a jovial state of mind. And with that comes the desire to be amongst friends, sharing in the pleasantness of open windows and the greenish light of sunbeams passing through new growth.

I believe it is imperative for every person to have a quick and simple cake in their repertoire. One that, when invited over for a last-minute afternoon visit, or next-day weekend brunch, is easy to whip up using ingredients always on hand. I have a few, but I think that this Swedish Visiting Cake is my very favorite. Not too sweet, but with a substantial, moist crumb, it can pass for either dessert or a morning coffee cake. I adore the crunch of almonds atop the dense base, and the way the edge and bottom of the cake crisp to create a shell that keeps it all together. You know, just in case you choose to pick up an entire slice between your thumb and forefinger. No need to dirty a dish if you're sitting outside and your other hand is occupied with a glass...

I found this recipe last year on Melanger, and it is not surprising that after making it once it has remained at the top of my list. Julia's taste in baked goods is steady; never too rich, most often simple and leaning towards rustic, always comforting. If you haven't yet, you should visit her lovely site.

Swedish Visiting Cake

from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan, via Melanger

serves 8

I realized this time, after I'd already prepared the pan and staged the table for photographs, that I was out of vanilla extract. So, I used a full teaspoon of almond extract instead. The cake is delicious both ways.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more to grease pan
• 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• zest from 1 lemon
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Method

1. Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat oven to 350°. Butter a seasoned 9-inch cast iron pan. (If you don't have a cast iron pan, a 9-inch cake pan works as well). 
2. Pour sugar into a medium bowl and add lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar, until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking to combine.
4. Add the salt and extracts and whisk to combine.
5. Stir in the flour using a rubber spatula.
6. Fold in the melted butter.
7. Pour batter into your prepared pan and smooth top with rubber spatula. Sprinkle almonds over the top of the batter and finish with a sprinkle of sugar.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are golden brown and starting to pull away from the edge of the pan.