I know that fall is just hours away, but it’s still blazing hot and the tomatoes are still beautiful here in Tennessee. I’m giving summer one last hoorah in this tomato tart filled with goat cheese custard and a hint of fall with a toasted walnut wheat pastry crust.
Tomatoes are one of those summer perks that I can’t ever get enough of, and morn the loss of every fall when they start to disappear. Growing up in the south meant that you were certain to enjoy plenty of tomato sandwiches, tomato jam, fried green tomatoes, and tarts. There is something magical that happens in a perfectly ripe, in-season tomato. Those watery, weak in flavor tomatoes that you might find throughout the year at big box groceries are just not even close to being in the same category of amazingness that a proper tomato is in.
Determined to squeeze out every last cherry, heirloom, red, green tomato from my CSA box into the recipes in my kitchen, I wanted to share this favorite with you all. As much as these 90-degree September days drive me mad here in Nashville, we still have gorgeous tomatoes. For that reason alone, I can’t let myself complain too much while I enjoy the fruits of the heat for now.
A good tomato tart has to start with a perfect crust. Typically, I would make a simple all-butter pastry crust. A pâte brisée style shortcrust that I reserve for savory tarts and pastry. This time, I decided to mix things up a bit with a twist of fall in the form of a toasted walnut crust. I used wheat flour that gives a warmth that white flour just doesn’t carry. Combined with the sharp tomatoes and rich goat cheese herb filling, it ended up being a great choice.
The smell that baking this crust will fill the house with is just incredible. It sort of teases you into thinking that you are ready to throw on your fall sweaters, load up Hocus Pocus, and start roasting marshmallows. BUT wait a second. Top it with the goat cheese and tomatoes and you get this really fun transition between seasons on your plate.
Here’s to the last day of summer and for the hope that my tomatoes keep pushing through until the very last moment. Enjoy, y’all!
- 1 cup wheat flour
- ½ cup walnuts, toasted, ground
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, cold and cubed
- 1 tablespoon water, cold
- 4 ounces goat cheese, room temp.
- 2 eggs, room temp.
- 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
- ½ teaspoon oregano, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ground
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- tomatoes, various types, sliced
- 2 tablespoons salt
- olive oil
- coarse flake salt to finish
- Pre-heat oven to 300 F.
- Toast whole walnuts on sheet pan until aromatic, about 10 minutes.
- Remove and cool. Place in a closed container and shake vigorously to remove most of the skins.
- Place flour, salt, cooled walnuts into a food processor.
- Pulse until walnuts are very well incorporated and fine.
- Add cold cubed butter and pulse 4-5 times until mixture is sandy. Do not over-mix.
- Add cold water until dough just comes together.
- Press together gently and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Chill dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- In the meantime, place sliced tomatoes on a sheet pan with paper towels.
- Gently salt the tomatoes on both sides.
- Let the tomatoes rest for 10-15 minutes. This step removes excess water and is important to the final consistency of the tart.
- Rinse the tomatoes under cold water and pat dry.
- Roll dough to about ¼ inch thickness on lightly floured surface.
- Transfer to tart pan (I love this one for it's removable bottom) and press into corners evenly.
- Whisk, by hand or with mixer, the goat cheese and eggs.
- Mix in the herbs and salt and pepper.
- Brush pastry with dijon mustard.
- Smooth goat cheese mixture over tart pastry.
- Bake for 10 minutes and remove.
- Top with tomato slices, a drizzle of olive oil.
- Bake at 400 F until tomatoes have cooked and crust slightly golden, about 25-30 minutes.
- Enjoy!
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Rebecca King
Ok, I’m in the middle of making this and I have so many questions:
What size pan?
How many walnuts BEFORE grinding? Must be more than 1/2 cup?
Fresh thyme and oregano or dried?
Ballpark how many tomatoes? How thick the slices?
Why rinse the tomatoes if you’re trying to get rid of the water?
This looks great but I feel like I’m missing some crucial info!
Phillip @ SouthernFATTY.com
Sorry you felt a little lost! I used a 9″ tart pan for this. Any pan close to that should be fine. 1/2 cup of walnuts is before they are chopped. I used fresh herbs. Tomato-wise, it depends on your tomatoes. Since I used some heirloom ones, some were small and some large. For typical grocery red tomatoes, maybe 3-4 is my best guess. Any thickness will be fine, but I prefer about 1/4″. Salting the tomatoes will pull a lot of the moisture out. Rinsing gets rid of excessive salt. Rinsing quickly won’t allow the tomatoes to absorb any additional moisture. I use this technique a lot for zucchini as well (baked zucchini fries, etc.) where the vegetable/fruit runs the risk of having too much water and ruining the bake.
Good luck!
-Phillip
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Les
Wow !!! Gorgeous photography !! Will have to make one with the last tomatoes from the garden – Ours not quite as nice as yours… Fall and getting quite cool in British Columbia, CA
Phillip @ SouthernFATTY.com
Thank you! If you have a few left, give it a go! It would be a great sendoff for them hah