Serves 8 as part of brunch with lots of salads, etc. or cut smaller as a nibble at a garden party.
Sometimes it takes a few tries to get a dish right. For me, it’s been this way with a tomato tart. I have tried lots of tomato tarts in my time and so many have just not turned out quite right.
There are so many recipes, but a classic tomato tart will often have anchovies. Now, I like food, a lot! But of the two things I prefer not to eat, one of them is the anchovy. (Note: The other is okra, unless it is pickled New Orleans-style – then I will eat bottles full!)
I have disliked the anchovy since I was a child and unlike blue cheese, pate and even the somewhat similar sardine, I never grew into it. I am the only one in my family that feels this way.
However, I do love the salty depth anchovies can add to a dish if they are included in a way in which you can’t taste their powerful fishiness. For instance, anchovy fillets are brilliant on a roasted leg of lamb, where they literally melt away, leaving a salty flavour. And, anchovy paste is a sublime addition to a cream caper sauce for fish, like skate wing.
So, I decided I would take inspiration from a traditional tomato tart and use anchovy paste to create a solid base for my tart. I also added capers and sundried tomatoes for additional richness. It was delish! My flatmate, who dislikes anchovies equally, agrees.
You will need:
Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius.
Cut the puff pastry in half and roll into two squares. You will know when it is big enough as you will roll out an edge and it will largely spring back. Don’t push it, this is the pastry telling you it’s the right amount of rolled out. Put it on waxed paper on a baking tray. Then pierce the pastry with a fork all over, which will stop it from rising.
Remove the capers from the brine they come in and let sit in fresh water for five minutes. Then, gently squeeze them while they are in the water to get all the brine out. Chop them and the sundried tomatoes very finely You will need ¼ cup total but I have deliberately left the exact amount of each vague as some people are not as keen on capers as others, so they can put less in. The important bit is that you get a 1/4 cup combined of capers and sundried tomatoes.
Mix the sundried tomatoes and capers with the anchovy paste and grind in some pepper. Spread on the pastry, leaving a border around the edge.
Cut the tomatoes into slices and arrange closely (they will shrink during cooking) on the pastry, again leaving a border.
Cook at least 20 minutes on or until the pastry is lightly brown all over, with darker brown patches.
Note: You could put egg white on the pastry border to make it go a lovely deep and even brown. I have not, as in my failed attempts at tomato tarts the pastry has gone brown before the tart is actually done, with the pastry in the middle of the tart not properly cooked. It’s like false advertising, and the outcome is very disappointing.
There are so many recipes, but a classic tomato tart will often have anchovies. Now, I like food, a lot! But of the two things I prefer not to eat, one of them is the anchovy. (Note: The other is okra, unless it is pickled New Orleans-style – then I will eat bottles full!)
I have disliked the anchovy since I was a child and unlike blue cheese, pate and even the somewhat similar sardine, I never grew into it. I am the only one in my family that feels this way.
However, I do love the salty depth anchovies can add to a dish if they are included in a way in which you can’t taste their powerful fishiness. For instance, anchovy fillets are brilliant on a roasted leg of lamb, where they literally melt away, leaving a salty flavour. And, anchovy paste is a sublime addition to a cream caper sauce for fish, like skate wing.
So, I decided I would take inspiration from a traditional tomato tart and use anchovy paste to create a solid base for my tart. I also added capers and sundried tomatoes for additional richness. It was delish! My flatmate, who dislikes anchovies equally, agrees.
You will need:
- 1 piece puff pastry
- 4 plum tomatoes
- ¼ cup capers and sundried tomatoes chopped very finely
- 1 heaping tbsp. anchovy paste
- A few grinds of pepper
Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius.
Cut the puff pastry in half and roll into two squares. You will know when it is big enough as you will roll out an edge and it will largely spring back. Don’t push it, this is the pastry telling you it’s the right amount of rolled out. Put it on waxed paper on a baking tray. Then pierce the pastry with a fork all over, which will stop it from rising.
Remove the capers from the brine they come in and let sit in fresh water for five minutes. Then, gently squeeze them while they are in the water to get all the brine out. Chop them and the sundried tomatoes very finely You will need ¼ cup total but I have deliberately left the exact amount of each vague as some people are not as keen on capers as others, so they can put less in. The important bit is that you get a 1/4 cup combined of capers and sundried tomatoes.
Mix the sundried tomatoes and capers with the anchovy paste and grind in some pepper. Spread on the pastry, leaving a border around the edge.
Cut the tomatoes into slices and arrange closely (they will shrink during cooking) on the pastry, again leaving a border.
Cook at least 20 minutes on or until the pastry is lightly brown all over, with darker brown patches.
Note: You could put egg white on the pastry border to make it go a lovely deep and even brown. I have not, as in my failed attempts at tomato tarts the pastry has gone brown before the tart is actually done, with the pastry in the middle of the tart not properly cooked. It’s like false advertising, and the outcome is very disappointing.
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