Have a safe Memorial Day, all, and make this easy Oven Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart while you’re at it. It’s a fabulous recipe to serve friends and/or family at home or to tote along with you if you are celebrating elsewhere.
Oven Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart
If you’re not in the States, Memorial Day is a three day weekend, the day we honor those who’ve died serving our country, and a day many visit the final resting places of loved ones, go to parades, and have get-togethers around the grill. Memorial Day is the unofficial “official” start of summer.
About Oven Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart:
All I know about today is we’ll be having this glorious Oven Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart. The rest we’ll play fast and loose because when I’m helping out my favorite octogenarians (the folks – although one is 90, now) I never really know what the day will hold. They’ll be cooking up some adventure of their own and of course, I’ll be dragged along…
That’s ok, though, because this tomato tart (which I made yesterday and might make again this week – it’s that good. I mean it’s really, really good) is great warm, at room temperature and cold. I love that it’s an appetizer/starter that’s just a little unexpected and I love that it’s a little rustic with just a touch of sophistication.
Oven Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart is perfectly portable, too, just in case you’re invited somewhere. Just tote it along in the pan and slice it on the spot. The tart crust is sturdy and this can be sliced large or small for picking up and noshing.
(By the way, I have several tomato tarts/pies on my site. While it’s hard to pick just one more fave, I hafta admit having a deep and abiding love for this Cheesy Tomato & Vidalia Onion Pie, especially in the late summer when tomatoes start pouring in!
Cheesy Vidalia & Tomato Pie, adapted from Emeril Lagasse
Making the Tart:
Did I mention how easy this tart is? It’s worth mentioning again. And that’s because the crust is easy! This tart has a super easy pat in the pan crust, thanks to Better Homes & Gardens. If you’d rather, make this with a pie crust, this crust I used for my Caramelized Onion Galette, or a premade pie crust – or maybe a thin layer of pizza dough. Choose what fits your time-line and skills. Give it a little head start in the oven, then add your scrumptious layers.
First, add a little cheese, maybe several cheeses. One can be something melty and the other, something sharp. Then strew with caramelized onions and drizzle on the thinnest layer of a little custard made with egg and milk to hold everything together. Top with tomatoes – glorious cherry tomatoes in any and all colors you can find.
Pop the tart back in the oven another 15 to 20 minutes, pull it out, sprinkle generously with your favorite salt, maybe add a few herbs here and there, and if you’d like, a little drizzle of white, red, or balsamic vinegar. And when you’re done devouring this (and devour you will) come back and let me know how everyone liked it! 🙂
Storing:
The tart can be refrigerated before serving and leftovers can be refrigerated as well. There will be some shrinkage of the tomatoes and care should be taken so the crust does not become soggy. It’s best to refrigerate leftovers on a paper towel to catch any condensation and remove the paper towel as soon as the tart is cool.
Reheat, if desired, in the oven for best results, for about 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees F., right on the oven shelf.
oven roasted cherry tomato tart
Saving Money on Oven Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart:
While I can’t cover every ingredient in detail in every post, I always like to give a few good hints, especially on the pricier ingredients.
Cherry or Grape Tomatoes:
There is not a doubt that specialty tomatoes like grape or cherry tomatoes cost more than a plain old tomato at the store, but there are some strategies to finding them at a great price.
- Since they come branded and packaged, look for coupons (check your coupon site or the producer’s site) and they regularly go on sale in my area – often with a store coupon. (Yes, you can use both.) Check for great sales around any holiday, when they often go for half the regular sales price and check your discount store, Lidl or Aldi for great prices.
- If you can grow your own, and many cherry tomatoes grow beautifully in pots, that’s usually a great way to go. For the most part, but do your research, cherry tomatoes have a high yield and produce tomatoes voraciously!
Near Deli Cheese:
Don’t let the prices of “near deli” cheese deter you; more flavor means more bang for your buck than plain old grocery store cheese.
- There is a specific strategy to buying at your grocery store. Pick up hangtags (coupons handing near the cheese) whenever you see them. Hang on to them (the expiration date is usually long). Since stores often have a buy one get one free or a buy one get one 1/2 off sale, and most allow you to use a coupon for each wedge, your savings can multiply. Check for electronic coupons, too, usually from the producer’s site.
- Both Aldi and Lidl have great pricing as does your buyers club. As a general rule, avoid cheese in crumbles or shredded; it more expensive per ounce and the quality is not as good.
Cheese:
Cheese is an item that is on sale so often, it’s not that hard to keep stocked up at a low. Cheese keeps for week in the fridge unopened. It may be frozen but will be crumbly upon being thawed, suitable only for things like casseroles.
- An item that’s often rock bottom around sporting events and holidays and periodically drops to a low throughout the year, there’s no reason to pay full price.
- Both Lidl and Aldi have great prices, rivaling grocery store sales pricing. Your buyer’s club might. Crunch the numbers. Beware of sliced or shredded; depending on your area the the packages may contain less cheese than the blocks.
Butter:
If you have a freezer there’s no reason to buy butter ever at full price. It goes on sale often enough and freezes well. If you are interested in saving money, you should have a deep freeze.
- Butter is generally on sale prior to any holiday but reaches a low before Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Stock up when it is at a low, and buy enough to last until the next great sale.
- Both Aldi & Lidl have great pricing on butter and so does your buyers club; you may have to buy more at your buyer’s club than you will at your grocery or discount store.
Oven Roasted Tomato Tart
Oven Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
Ingredients
Better Homes and Garden’s No-Fail Tart Crust:
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), cubed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons ice water (plus a little extra if needed)
The Tart Filling:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 large onions, halved then sliced thinly (into half moons)
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1–1/2 cups grated melty cheese: provolone, mozzarella, jack, colby jack, etc.
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or other hard, sharp cheese
- 1 whole egg
- 1/3 cup milk or buttermilk
- 2 to 3 cups cherry tomatoes, any kind. Small go on whole, larger may be cut in half with cut side up
- a small handful of herbs for garnish (parsley, basil, etc.)
- a sprinkling of sea salt
- white wine or red wine vinegar or balsamic to sprinkle on top when serving
Instructions
Note:
Start caramelizing the onions first so they can be cooking as the tart crust is prepared. You may have extra caramelized onions.
Crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. (For nonstick pans preheat oven according to instructions on package.)
In a food processor pulse flour, butter, and salt 10 to 20 seconds or until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Do not over process.
In a small bowl whisk together yolks and the water. With processor running, add yolk mixture. Stop as soon as dough just starts to come together, about 5 seconds.
Crumble to distribute evenly in an 8 x 11 rectangular sheet pan or 9 to 11-inch round tart pan with removable bottom; press into pan.
Using a fork, prick dough all over. Bake 12 minutes. Remove from oven and assemble the tart.
Topping:
Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the butter, onions, salt, and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, covered, stirring now and then. Uncover and cook, stirring more often, about 15 minutes more until the onions are soft and deep golden brown. Set aside.
Remove tart crust from oven. Sprinkle on the cheeses, then strew the onions (as many or as few as you’d like – I prefer fewer so they don’t overwhelm the tomatoes) on top in a single layer.
Mix together the egg and milk in a small bowl and drizzle over the onions on the tart. Nudge it around just a little to spread throughout, trying to disturb the cheese as little as possible. It may not completely cover.
Add cherry tomatoes to the top; any cut tomatoes need to go on cut side up.
Bake the tart for 15 to 18 minutes, watching carefully to make sure the crust doesn’t burn; it should be a deep golden brown so if the crust browns too fast, reduce the heat to 425 F. When done, some of the tomatoes may have burst, others should be wrinkly – a few browned spots are perfectly fine.
Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, add herbs. Serve with vinegar of choice.
I’m taking this recipe over to Fiesta Friday 173, put on this week by the intrepid beach comber, Angie and her two co-hosts: Lindy @ Love In The Kitchen and Paula @ Her Life Is Love. I’m sensing love in the air, this week. It just takes a second to click over and visit and see all the great link-ups & give them some love back.
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