Savory Tomato Tart

Ah, it's tomato time.

This is the kind I used for this recipe

And my local farm stand always puts out a magnificent array of plump, gorgeous, juicy tomatoes.  So .. a few days ago I realized it was time to get out my good savory tart recipe which I then proceeded to make up yesterday.

There are two preps here.

1.  One is to make a crust for a 9"-10" pie dish.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1 + 1/2 c. flour
1/4 lb. butter (one stick)
1/4 t. salt
4 - 5 T. ice water.
Cut the butter into the flour (and salt) so that it's the size of small peas.  Add enough ice water to form the dough into a smooth round ball.  Roll out.  Place in the pie dish and bake for 8 minutes.  (I put in a piece of foil and scattered some of those pea-like ceramic pie weights.  Not sure how necessary they are, but they do keep the crust from puffing up.)  Let cool.  Turn off oven.

After pre-baking for 8 minutes

2.  The other prep is for the filling.

3 lb. tomatoes.  Drop 2-3 at a time into boiling water for 20 seconds, then peel.  Cut each in half cross-wise and dig out the seeds and juice without being too vigorous about it.  In other words, don't squeeze the tomatoes.
1 medium-sized onion.  Dice and sauté in olive oil.  Be careful not to burn.
1 clove of garlic.  Mince or press.  Add to onion at end.
Give the tomatoes a rough chop and add them along with:
3/4 t. dried oregano
4 T. chopped fresh parsley
4 T. chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Turn burner to medium low and let this all cook awhile.  I gave it about 20 minutes.

Fresh parsley and basil

Pour the tomato mixture into a colander placed over a bowl and simply let the juices drain into the bowl.  I allowed 10 or 15 minutes for that.

Letting the juices drain out of the tomato mixture

Then, return those juices to your pot and let them reduce down at a simmer.  Watch carefully so that they don't start to brown.  Turn off the heat, put the tomatoes from the colander back in the pot, and mix them with the reduced juices.

Let cool.
When you are nearing the time to complete the tart, preheat oven to 375.
Beat 2 eggs
Add in 1/3 c. mayonnaise and beat until smooth.
Grate 1/4 pound of a nice sharp cheddar cheese and divide into two piles.
Add the egg/mayo to the tomatoes.
And stir in one pile of cheese.

Two piles of cheese

Two eggs, whisked

Pour into the pie crust and sprinkle on the second pile of cheese.

Ready to put in the oven

Bake 30 minutes at 375.

The final thing ... yum!!