This beautiful Jersey Tomato Summer Tart is filled with a trio of cheeses and topped with fresh tomato slices and basil. It’s the perfect vegetarian dish or party appetizer to make with fresh tomatoes from the farmers market or garden!
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Originally published on sofabfood.com on
Summer is coming and so is tomato season here in New Jersey. In my opinion, it doesn’t get any better than a Jersey tomato during summertime! Then again, as a Jersey native, I might be a little biased. While we wait for our own tomatoes to start growing in the backyard, I’ve been hitting up the local farmers market for hot house tomatoes.
There’s a little, local farm nearby that’s open daily during the spring and summer. They have greenhouses filled with an amazing assortment of plants and a market that sells locally made and grown goodies. This time of year, I’m there about every two weeks picking up plants for our garden, baked goods (like those apple cider doughnuts I can never pass up), or seasonal produce.
Farmers Market Jersey Tomato 3-Cheese Tart
I was flipping through a farmers market cookbook recently and found a recipe for a tomato tart. I decided to make my own version of the recipe, so I headed back to the farmers market for fresh tomatoes and cheese. Lots and lots of cheese! If you haven’t had locally-made cheese before, you’re honestly missing out. There’s such a big difference in the taste and quality and it’s so worth it!
We already have fresh herbs growing in our garden, including two types of basil – purple and Italian. As for the rest of the ingredients, I was able to buy most of them while I was at the farm. I grabbed a few big, beautiful tomatoes and three – yes, three – different kinds of cheese!
The filling in this tart is made with local ricotta cheese that I could honestly eat with a spoon. The ricotta is mixed with Provolone, Parmesan-Reggiano, garlic, and a little lemon zest. It’s a bright, cheesy filling that compliments the tomatoes and herbs so well!
Ingredients
- 1 - 9" prepared pie shell
- 2 cup ricotta cheese
- 2/3 cup aged Provolone cheese, grated
- 1/3 cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 tsp lemon zest
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
- 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Poke the bottom of the pie shell with a fork and brush with olive oil.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Then, remove from oven and set aside.
- Lower the oven to 350ºF and prepare the filling.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, Provolone, Parmesan-Reggiano, garlic, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spread the ricotta mixture evenly into the pie shell.
- Top with tomato slices and drizzle with a little olive oil.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh basil.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Home Chef Tip: Slice the tomatoes with a serrated knife to easily cut through the skin without squishing your tomatoes!
I like to think of this Jersey Tomato Summer Tart kind of like a super fresh pizza. The flavors are all there. It’s a perfect recipe for using up some of that farmers market or garden haul. Trust me, once those Jersey tomatoes start growing, there’s no stopping them!
If you’re like me and already think that tomatoes, cheese, and basil are a match made in heaven, wait until you try this recipe! I love a good Caprese salad, but this tart might be taking the place of my summer tomato go-to this year!
If you want to take the flavor of this tomato tart up a notch, drizzle a slice with pesto or balsamic glaze before enjoying! Serve it with a fresh garden salad to make it a delicious summertime meal and slice it up and put it out on the appetizer table to impress party guests.
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