A stunning summer
tart, using tomatoes when they are at their ripest, sweetest and most
reasonable.
Wonderful as a
starter or
as a light main course with
a superb green salad, lightly dressed with a well-seasoned yoghurt cream; a dash of olive oil and powdered
mustard, whisk thoroughly. Voilà. 
INGREDIENTS
16-20
medium sized ripe tomatoes, halved
a
few sprigs of fresh oregano or basil
1
tablespoon sugar
8
plump garlic cloves, finely chopped
crushed
sea salt and milled black pepper
2
teaspoons powdered mustard
12
black calamata olives, stoned
12
fine anchovies fillets
fine
peel of half a lemon (julienne)
8
tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil
You will need: food
processor, pastry
blender, mixing
bowl, 25
cm loose-bottomed flan tin, cook's
knife, metal
skewer, metal
spatula, wire
cooling rack
Basic
Short Crust Pastry:
1 egg yolk
2-3 tablespoons ice water
180 g cake flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ teaspoon salt
90 g very cold unsalted butter
STAGE 1:
When
making pastry, work on a cool surface like marble, granite or wood and
always handle pastry lightly and sparingly. The pastry base can be made in advance over the
weekend and frozen.
To prepare pastry for tarts baked from frozen place on a rack towards
the base of oven. Bake at 180º C for 10 minutes until a light gold.
Remove, cool and reserve.
Because the quality of flour varies, you may need a
fraction more or a little less liquid than is called for. Mix
egg yolk and iced water lightly together in a bowl, using a fork. Using a food
processor, fitted with a steel blade,
process flour, lemon zest, salt and butter for 10 seconds or until crumbs form. Add egg
and water mixture and process until pastry forms a ball (do not over process).
Alternatively,
rub butter quickly and gently into flour and salt using your fingertips or a
pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over
egg and water mixture and using a knife or spatula, mix until absorbed and
dough forms a ball.
STAGE
2:
Wet the tart
pan very lightly. Break pastry ball into a few pieces and press onto the
base and sides firmly and evenly. Wrap lightly in aluminium foil and freeze.
To bake, place
the pastry case as close to the heat source as possible (for a crisp result)
bake at 200-220°C for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Pastry
should be firm and a pale golden colour. Leave to cool in the pan on a rack
before filling and baking.
STAGE
3:
It’s worth investing in a versatile 30 cm loose bottomed
flan tin, which is a
far better heat conductor than the more decorative china pie dishes which
often result in a soggy base.
Important,
check tomatoes for sweetness. Depending on the degree of tartness you may
require a little more or a little less sugar. Choose tomatoes carefully; they should be of uniform
size and at the same degree of ripeness, bright red, ripe with no green or yellow patches.
Arrange
tomatoes closely together on their sides, placed at an angle on the pastry
base. They need to be tightly packed as they tend to shrink.
Sprinkle with fresh oregano and sugar. Add garlic,
salt, freshly milled pepper, mustard powder, olives, anchovies and lemon peel.
Add further sprigs of oregano/basil.
STAGE 4:
Drizzle
thoroughly with half the olive oil and bake placed on a rack towards the
base of the oven for 1 hour at 180°C.
Remove,
drizzle with a further 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place in the centre of
the oven for a further 30-40 minutes. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Finally
place directly under the grill until the tops of the tomatoes blacken slightly. Keep the
oven door ajar whilst grilling.
Remove and
allow to stand until cooled. When standing for any length of time, lightly
cover with wax paper or aluminium foil.
During the long
baking the tomatoes must soften, juices will be absorbed back into the
tomatoes once the tart cools. Serve the tart only at room temperature, never
chilled.
COOK'S CLASS