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If you grow your own tomatoes, or shop at farmers’ markets for baskets of this sweet and juicy fruit, you may be ready for new ways to enjoy them at the table. This classic French tart makes good use of any size of ripe tomato, from those misshapen giants to tiny cherry tomatoes. The recipe turns them into a colourful lunch or supper dish with minimal work. It’s one of 44 recipes in a little cookbook called Tomato Love (Storey/Thomas Allen, $19.95), by New England food writer and recipe developer Joy Howard.
If your garden has produced a lot of kale, Howard offers a casserole recipe combining it with tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese. Make tomato onion jam to spread on toast, or peppery salsa to serve with chips, or a main-course salad with beans, corn, bell peppers and quinoa, or a roasted tomato basil soup. The ideas seem endless, the recipes are well tested, and the photographs by Joe St. Pierre are mouth-watering.
Tomato Goat Cheese Tart
Serves 8
Unbaked single-crust, 9-inch (23 cm) pie shell
1 1/2 pounds (750 g) tomatoes, halved if small, in wedges if large
1 1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) herbes de Provence or dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) kosher or coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon (15 mL) butter
1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil
4 large dry shallots, sliced
1 tablespoon (15 mL) plus 2 teaspoons (10 mL) Dijon mustard
2 ounces (50 g / 1/4 cup) goat cheese, crumbled
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 C). Line pie shell with dried beans or pie weights and bake for about 10 minutes, until crust begins to turn golden around the edges. Remove beans and bake another 5 minutes, then remove from oven and raise oven temperature to 425 F (220 C). (If pie shell is frozen, follow package directions to partially bake it.)
In a colander, combine tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper. Let stand for 30 minutes to drain off surplus liquid.
Warm butter and oil in a medium heavy frying pan over medium heat and cook shallots until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Spread mustard over the bottom of the partly baked pie shell and sprinkle with cooked shallots.
Spread tomatoes evenly on top and sprinkle with goat cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until tomatoes are tender and lightly browned in spots and pie shell is golden brown. Rotate pie halfway through baking.
Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
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