Tomato Basil Tart
This is a great fresh tomato basil tart.
Oh my gosh, I have never had such great crops of veggies and herbs – the
zucchini looks like its on steroids, and my tomatoes and basil have outdone
themselves. I have one basil plant that has leaves almost as big as my
palm, and my Cherokee tomatoes are sauce size! Today I’m sharing
a wonderful recipe just perfect for this time of year: tomato basil tart.
Some folks like to squeeze out part of the juice and seed the tomatoes
if they’re real juicy. What you’ll want here is to have enough
tomatoes and onions to make nice layers.
1 pie crust (can be low fat if desired)
Filling:
1 tablespoon flour 8 oz Mozzarella, Monterey Jack or combo of both Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 to 1 cup mayonnaise, regular or light (start out with 1/2 cup; if
too thick to spread, add a bit more as needed) 3-4 tomatoes, sliced 1 nice bunch green onions, sliced thin Handful of fresh basil, chopped, about 1/4 cup or so, or about 2 scant
teaspoons dry
Preheat oven to 400. Prick crust and prebake 10 minutes. Dust bottom
with flour. Mix cheese, salt and pepper and mayo. Spread thin layer over
crust. Lay tomato slices on top. Spread rest of cheese mixture over tomatoes.
Sprinkle with green onions and basil. Smooth top, pushing onions and
basil into cheese mixture. Bake about 20 minutes or until puffed and
golden.
Tips from Rita’s kitchen:
Pinch back that basil before it flowers. Once the plant flowers, the
energy goes into the flower/seed production and not into the leaves.
You can pinch it back pretty heavily since basil produces until the
first cold night.
* Basil contains iron and potassium
* Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, good for the prostate,
and can help reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, cataracts, plus they
help keep older people active!
* Low tech drying for basil: chop the leaves and lay on screens, tray or towel
to dry away from heat and light. Basil stays a decent green instead of turning
gray when you dry it in the traditional manner by hanging upside down.
In
the summer, I love this fresh tomato basil tart.
©2007 Rita Heikenfeld and AboutEating.com
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