As I write this, it is literally bucketing rain outside, the heat has been turned on full blast and any glimmer of a late summer which was present when I made the tomato tart above, has now completely disappeared. This year was the first year I didn’t grow tomatoes in my garden, after a rather disenchanting season of green ones, last year. I did miss them in the garden but fear not I was certainly not left short. Every now and then in my kitchen I end up with a glut of one ingredient. It happened last weekend when I was invaded by cherry tomatoes. I got a big bag of cherry tomatoes from my mom, who was doing a fridge clear out and then, just a few hours later, one of our neighbours dropped in a bag of ones he had grown himself. As the mountain of tomatoes began plotting, I came up with a plan of my own; half would be roasted off and stored in a little olive oil to be stirred in to pasta or piled on a bruschetta for breakfast and the other half would be transformed into a tomato tart for dinner.
As I strolled out to the garden for some herbs to toss the tomatoes in, I snapped a big butterfly sitting on my oregano which has started flowering. Now back to the tart, I firmly believe that if you’re not eating tomatoes fresh, the very best way to enjoy them is after they have been reduced until sweet and sticky by roasting them in the oven. This tart uses this method and has wonderful layers of sweetness, creaminess and crumbliness in every mouthful. In the same way that when life gives you lemons you should make lemonade, life gave me cherry tomatoes so I made a cherry tomato tart!
Continue to the recipe for Tomato, Ricotta and Thyme Tart…
