Roasted Tomato Tart with Cheddar and Basil

Oh my. This tart is definitely in the “make again” category for a number of reasons. First of all, nothing beats the combination of late-summer tomatoes and good-quality white cheddar cheese. Since I didn’t have plum tomatoes in my garden, I used grocery store tomatoes and found, much to my infinite delight, that the slow roasting brought out every bit of smoky sweet goodness those tomatoes had to offer. Wow—these just dripped and oozed flavor. Could it be that this tart can be replicated in the tomato’s off-season with equal success? I’ll definitely be finding out.

The tart dough was a dream to work with. It came together quickly in my Cuisinart and, once chilled, was so easy to roll out and crimp up in a rustic crostata style. The finished product looked like it came out of a professional kitchen. This would be a real showstopper at a dinner party or luncheon.

My halved plum tomatoes were still very moist at 4 hours, and in fact, still pretty moist at 5 and even 6 hours, so I was confused by the instruction to roast until “the moisture is completely removed.” Luckily, the remaining juices didn’t ruin the bottom of the tart dough as I’d feared, but I still feel like the potential for a soggy tart bottom is fairly high.

My recommendation would be to cut the plum tomatoes in 4 slices next time, not 2 (and to watch them in the oven carefully after 2 hours so they don’t become too dry and leathery). Also, I believe the 2 pounds of tomatoes called for was on the high side. The tart wasn’t overly generous in size and I only had room on top for 6 halves. Maybe I should’ve added more tomatoes, overlapping them?

I love tomato pie but have always had the same problem—the liquid from the tomatoes‚ even after I drained and salted them, making the crust soggy. So I was so excited to see this brilliant recipe using roasted tomatoes. When I removed the tomatoes from the oven, they had a dark, rich color with brown edges.

Making the tart dough the day before and the tomatoes and onions in the afternoon made this so easy to put together and have for dinner with friends. I served this with a salad, marinated roast pork tenderloin, and rolls—truly wonderful.

This is a delicious tart. The taste is great and it looks beautiful. Given that tomatoes are in season right now, it’s a great time to do something different. You can do this recipe in pieces over a few days to make it easier or as a weekend project.

The onions took a lot less time than the recipe stated and they definitely could be made a day ahead. I’d also say that a little browning wouldn’t hurt. (We all really like caramelized onions here.) The dough could also be made a day ahead. I used aged sharp white Cheddar, and it was delicious in combination with the other flavors. It took about 30 minutes to bake. It has a very thin crust.

I made this tart twice and both times it got rave reviews from my tasters. I used my own homegrown San Marzano-style tomatoes, which roasted to a sweet, intense tomato flavor. The crust was perfectly tender and flaky, which I attribute to mixing it by hand.

The tomatoes took exactly 4 hours to roast. They were quite dry but still soft to the touch and looked exactly like sun-dried tomatoes. Nowadays, so many tart/piecrust recipes use the food processor, which can lead to a much less tender crust. My tart took 40 minutes to bake.

This tart was a little bit of a project, but very easy to break down into parts and then put together quickly. It came out beautifully, too, with perfect, flaky pastry, sweet tomatoes, and tangy Cheddar. I’ve made a different tomato tart each week this summer, trying to keep up with the tomatoes ripening in my garden, and this one is my favorite to date.

The only small problem I ran into was with the roasting of the tomatoes. After 4 hours in the oven, they still seemed to have quite a bit of liquid left so I let them go for another hour, and then another hour after that for 6 hours total. At that point, I still wasn’t 100% sure that they were done, but it was late and I needed to get to bed so I let them cool a little before putting them away in the refrigerator.

The next day, it became clear that they were in fact done when I pulled them out. I think the main cue was that when I pressed into one with my finger, even though it still appeared to be plump, no liquid seeped out and they were quite a bit darker than when they started.

With the pastry, I found I only needed 4 tablespoons of the ice water. All the bits of flour were wet and I was afraid if I added the last tablespoon it’d be a soggy mess. I’d recommend adding 2 tablespoons at a time, tossing the flour/butter mixture until it appears it’ll come together into a cohesive dough. I refrigerated the pastry for several hours and it rolled out beautifully once I was ready to assemble the tart.

When the tart was sitting on the counter waiting to go into the oven, my husband came into the kitchen and was very impressed with how pretty it looked. We both hoped that its flavor would live up to its looks and it certainly didn’t disappoint. We served the tart with a simple green salad for a wonderful summer meal.

A very nice summer tart full of great flavors. The tomatoes were rich from slow roasting, and with the sweet onion and cheese, they made a juicy, gooey, and delicious topping.

I made the crust, roasted the tomatoes, and sautéed the onion the day before (I didn’t think the onion would “cool completely” while the oven preheated), which made it a cinch to assemble the tart for dinner the following day.

Do you end up with lots of garden tomatoes at the end of the season? Save 8 or so plum tomatoes for this tart—it’d be lovely for a summer’s-end picnic. (One leftover piece spent the night in the fridge at our house. I ate it cold the next day for lunch and was pleased that the crust wasn’t at all soggy.)

As a longtime fan of tomato pie (my mom makes a killer one), I had high hopes for this more refined interpretation, and I wasn’t disappointed. Whereas mom’s tomato pie dilutes the essence of the tomatoes by using them raw and including copious amounts of mayonnaise, this tart highlights our sweet summer friends by calling for roasted tomatoes (the roasting greatly concentrates their flavor), just a touch of crème fraîche, and a fine cheddar to provide a salty counterpoint. The sweetness of the gently cooked onion reinforces the flavor of the tomatoes without overpowering it, and the herbal kick from the basil brings the whole combination into sharp focus.

The tart dough was wonderful to work with, though I did find that a 1-inch border didn’t quite provide enough of a lip to safely contain the tart’s filling, which started to ooze out in a couple of spots. I also found that the tomatoes took about an hour longer than the recipe dictates to achieve the supple, leatherlike consistency of a perfectly roasted Roma. Of course, it could be due to the fact that my Romas were a touch on the large side. Finally, in my oven the tart was done at just over 40 minutes, with the cheese starting to burn in spots, so pay attention as you approach the end of the stated cooking time.

We let ours cool to just slightly warm before eating it and were thrilled with the result. The crisp, buttery crust, the bold umami sweetness of the roasted tomatoes, and the caramelized salty chew of the cheddar make this a dish that I know we’ll enjoy many more times in the waning weeks of our fabulous tomato season.

This tart is flavorful and savory and would be perfect before dinner with drinks or as a main course with a purslane salad. For an appetizer, it might be fun to make in a long rectangular tart pan so it could be cut into squares. Also, the tomatoes are delicious on their own.