Tomato Season

I am happy to say that my stubborn tomatoes have FINALLY started to ripen. However, my plants are not looking all that great these days. Wouldn't it be just my luck that the moment they finally decided to ripen they get some sort of disease and croak entirely. Hmph! I will be keeping an eye on them and hopefully that doesn't happen. Good thing I have lots of windowsill space for them to finish off in case the unthinkable happens! While I don't have quite enough to start canning like a maniac, I did have enough for some lovely tarts. I made a French version with asiago cheese that I fell in love with last summer as well as this Italian version I saw on Proud Italian cook. I did deviate from recipe a bit in that I used a regular pastry crust instead of brown rice and garlic powder instead of grating the fresh stuff - I was in a rush and didn't feel like peeling garlic. The end result was still quite yummy and husband an I enjoyed it with some chicken parmesan for dinner. These tarts come together so quickly and are so delicious with fresh summer tomatoes it is really hard to refrain from eating them all in one or two sittings! They would make excellent additions to any meal any time of day.

Italian Tomato Tart (adapted from Proud Italian Cook)

INGREDIENTS

• 9 inch deep fluted tart pan with removable bottom or a deep dish pie pan

FOR CRUST

• 1  disc pre-made pie crust dough

FILLING

• 2 cups ricotta cheese, drained
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbs garlic powder
• 1/3 cup of grated romano cheese
• 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella
• basil and parsley, fresh chopped, 2 tablespoons each
• TOPPING
• vine ripened tomatoes, any kind, sliced

Instructions

1. Turn up oven temp to 350 degrees.F. 
2. Line tart pan with pie crust dough
3. Mix ricotta, cheeses, herbs, egg and garlic for the filling then spread evenly onto the crust.
4. Place your tomatoes all over,slightly sinking them into the ricotta mixture.
5. Drizzle olive oil on top of the tomatoes and tart then bake for 30 minutes or until ricotta is set.
6. To finish it, I like to place mine under the broiler to get it a nice golden color on top, but if you do that, keep checking and don't walk away from the stove!
7. Let it cool a little before slicing.
8. Garnish with chopped fresh basil.