Cherry Tomato and Cheese Tart

Last week I showed you a great way to use up those darling end of season cherry tomatoes that are lurking about (check it out HERE). In the last week or so, I found the garden is still producing lots of little cherries and after roasting a few batches, I was in the mood for something else.

My fellow food people in the web world did not disappoint with the abundant ways to use up these little red sweeties but the winner for my taste buds was found over at the Pioneer Woman website. I’ve been quite fond of this site for awhile as the food is always good, always plateful and almost always easy to make with ingredients on hand. The site’s spin on a cherry tomato tart was no exception.

After a few tweaks and changes, I found my sweet spot for this tart and think that while the original is fabulous, this version is slouch itself. But don’t take my word for it. Accept those cherry tomatoes your neighbor is desperately trying to give you and whip up a cheesy, oniony, tomatoey treat today!

Sweet Cherry Tomato and Cheese Tart

Prep Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hour 30 min | Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 piecrust dough (homemade or store bought)
• 3 cups whole cherry tomatoes, de-stemmed and rinsed
• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced (about 1 full cup)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cup white Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 16-18 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• salt
• pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• shortening, butter, or non-stick cooking spray

Directions

1. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat
2. Add diced onion and season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions are done when golden and the edges are slightly brown
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
4. Generously coat a medium sized baking sheet with butter, shortening or non-stick cooking spray and set aside
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the piecrust dough until very thin and the crust fits in the baking sheet with a slight hang over all sides
6. Place dough into baking sheet and trim any hanging that is over the lip of the sheet
7. Sprinkle all cheeses over the dough, ensuring the cheese covers all of the dough
8. Next, spread the caramelized onions over the cheese layer and then place the tomatoes in rows until the whole crust is covered
9. Drizzle tart with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
10. Place in oven and bake for 15-18 minutes our until cheese is melted and tomatoes are just beginning to shrivel and burst
11. Immediately after removing from oven, sprinkle chopped basil over the tart
12. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then just try not eat it all yourself!

Tips

• While I love, love recipes that make enough to feast for days, this is one of those rare recipes that is best consumed right after you make it. It can be eaten cold or reheated; however I find the crust does not hold up the best and the flavors are a little off.
• This is light enough that you can have this for dinner and still have room for a little dessert and feel good or it is excellent for a casual weekend lunch with friends!
• If you do not have or do not care for any of the cheeses, feel free to play around with different types. Just be sure a majority of your cheese comes from blocks that you shred as it tends to melt better than the bagged pre-shredded cheese. A bit of the pre-shredded is fine, especially if you go for Mozzarella as this is a tough cheese to shred by hand.
• If you decide to go bold and make a from scratch pie crust, check out my recipe HERE. To make this even easier to make, plan to make the crust a few hours or days before the tart so all you will have to do is thaw the crust and roll it out! Even better, you can make multiple crusts and freeze the ones you don’t use to have on hand for future baking!