Cherry Tomato Crostata

Sometimes friends ask me if I really cook all the things I post on Ciao Chow Linda. Well, yes, I explain, and lots more too. Some of the things I cook turn out to be less than blog-worthy though, and that included a tomato ricotta tart I made a couple of weeks. It looked lovely, but the crust wasn't cooked all the way through, as you might be able to tell from the photo below:

  I tried again with the same crust, this time rolling the dough really thin, using a freeform, crostata shape instead of the removable bottom tart pan.  I decided to skip the ricotta cheese in favor of caramelized onions, gruyere and parmesan cheese. And I went with cherry tomatoes, since I still had so many ripening in the garden. (OK, I admit it, aside from the crust, this is an entirely different recipe from the first tomato tart.) The cherry tomato variety I've been growing - "black cherry" - has a darker hue and a sweeter taste than the bright red ones more commonly seen in the markets. But any cherry tomato variety will do for this recipe - even yellow ones. You can cut the tomatoes in half if you like, but this time around, I left them whole. 

Caramelized onions - one of my very favorite foods - are a key component of this dish - . I've always thought that the next time I put my house up for sale, I'd ignore that advice from realtors to infuse the house with the smell of freshly baked bread or chocolate chip cookies. Nope, for my money, you can lure prospective buyers better with the intoxicating aroma of onions sautéeing in olive oil or butter. Bake this crostata for the open house and you might be able to seal the deal. 

The crust is really special too - it's imbued with the goodness of parmesan cheese, fresh herbs and cracked black pepper. Roll it out thinly, then layer the cheeses and caramelized onions on top, leaving about two inches all the around the perimeter for crimping. 

Scatter some fresh herbs (in this case, oregano and thyme) and place the tomatoes on top. 

Bake at high heat (425 degrees) but keep an eye on it near the end, covering the edges of the pastry with aluminum foil if it looks like it might burn.

I served it as a main course, along with romano beans and fresh sweet corn. But this would work great as an appetizer too, cut into smaller pieces.

Cherry Tomato Crostata

printable recipe here



Crust



1 cup flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 T. finely minced fresh herbs (thyme, oregano or sage)

1 t. salt

1/2 t. freshly cracked black pepper

1 stick cold butter

1 large egg yolk, beaten with 3 T. ice water



Place the flour, cornmeal, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and sage in a food processor and pulse until mixed well together. Add the butter in small pieces until the mixture looks like coarse sand. Add the egg yolk and water and mix it just enough until it starts to hold together. If it looks too dry, add more ice water as needed. Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic, then place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. (It freezes really well too.)





Filling

1 large, sweet onion (about two cups sliced thinly)

1 T. olive oil

1 cup freshly grated gruyere cheese

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

2 dozen cherry tomatoes (more or less, depending on how big they are)

fresh thyme

fresh oregano



Cook the sliced onions in the olive oil - slowly - until they turn golden brown. This will take at least 1/2 hour, maybe 45 minutes. Let them cool slightly.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a thin round - about 1/8th inch thick and about 14 inches in diameter. If the dough is too thick, it won't cook all the way through.  Transfer to a large cookie sheet or baking dish.

Spread the cheeses onto the dough, excluding about two inches all around the circumference. Place the caramelized onions over the cheese, then scatter bits of the fresh thyme and fresh oregano over that. Top with the cherry tomatoes, then bring the edges toward the center and crimp together as you go. Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 1/2 hour. If crust gets brown too quickly, lower the heat to 400, and cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil.