Tomato Basil Tart with a Polenta Crust

I’m spoiling you with tomatoes again. You see, I’ve had a good crop and the harvest has been plentiful. After eating them mostly naked and then preserving them in various sauces, it was time to tart them up a little. Don’t tire of my tomato mania – not just yet. This tart deserves all your attention – it is so shamelessly good that anything less than your undivided attention will not do justice to it.

The September so far has been moist but warm and has caused my tomato plants to burst with more fruit one last time. As summer moves along I see the shift in season: stray leaves fall covering the pavement while the trees vainly hold onto their vitality, the markets signal the change with plums, pumpkins, carrots lined next to the last of the summer squash, blackberries and a few stray strawberries and Soeren collects bags of chestnuts from the big tree on the churchyard. But I know that autumn is coming most when my body begins a deep craving for figs.

I’d like to plant a fig tree next year. After the tomatoes have gone the figs will revive my exuberance and keep me in the garden – tending and dreaming – a little longer. But right now I still have the tomatoes. Tomatoes – gently roasted to a soft, moist and jammy sweetness – are perfect tucked in a bed of smooth creamy cheese scattered with earthy herbs on top of a desirous crunchy crust.

So one last time this year – let me pamper you with my divine tomatoes.

Recipe: Tomato Basil Tart with Polenta Crust
Adapted from Donna Hay’s recipe in Fresh and Light

Printable version of recipe here

By Meeta K. Wolff
Published: 17 September 2014
This is a luscious tart with a crispy polenta crust and silky soft and moist roasted tomatoes in a bed of creamy cheese.

Prep Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 4-5 Roma tomatoes, halved
• 8 sprigs thyme
• 75g all-purpose flour
• 170g instant polenta
• 120g unsalted butter
• 80ml water
• sea salt & cracked black pepper
• 300g cream cheese
• 3 eggs
• handful basil leaves, chopped
• 25g parmesan cheese, grated

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. In a baking tray place the tomatoes, cut-side up. Sprinkle with thyme and some cracked pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes until slightly softened, Remove from oven and set aside.
2. Reduce the heat to 180 degrees C. Make the polenta crust, place polenta, flour, butter, water, and salt in a food processor and process until you have a smooth dough. Line a tart or spring form (24cm) with the crust, pressing the dough with your fingers towards and up the sides of the form. Place some baking paper on top of the crust and fill with dried beans. Blind bake the crust 15 minutes, remove beans and paper and bake for a further 10 minutes until the dough is crisp.
3. In the meantime, make the filling, place cream cheese, eggs, in a food processor and whizz till the mixture is smooth. Stir through the chopped basil and parmesan then pour the filling into the pastry shell. Place the roasted tomatoes into the filling. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the filling has set. Serve the tart warm with plenty of green salad.

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Verdict

The buttery crust, crispy and light works amazingly with the creamy filling, while the tomatoes add a juicy sweetness that explodes in your mouth as you bite into it. Warm it is an amazing experience perfect for a light lunch with a green salad but this works just as well cold for a late summer picnic.

The recipe is from Donna Hay’s Light and Fresh – a must have on your shelves. The recipes are innovative, full of great ingredients and flavor pairings, leaving plenty of room for new interpretations. Oh and the photography is stunning – from William Meppem – my hero!

You might like these sinful tarts from What’s for lunch, Honey?:

Roasted Tomato Aubergine and Tahini Tart	Tarte Flambée: Zucchini, Fennel and Goat Cheese or Tomato, Zucchini and Feta Cheese	Bacon Cheese & Leek Tart

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