I am crazy about tarts. You should know that by now. Nearly half of the recipes I include in my blog are tarts. So it was strange to realize that I didn’t bake a savory one yet.
The second tart I baked over the weekend is this Cherry Tomato and Feta Cheese Tart with Fresh Thyme. Out of all three tarts, I liked this one the best. I planned on a quiche rather than a tart, but I am glad that I didn’t settle on the quiche. This is a much lighter choice, spot on especially on a hot summer day.
The feta cheese became crispy after nearly an hour of baking and cherry tomatoes developed a very sweet taste. Everyone who tasted it loved it. I saw a similar tart on Bea’s blog and decided to leave the stems on the cherry tomatoes just like she did. It looks so much better with the stems on. We didn’t even take them out while eating. Delicious!
Fresh thyme was added at the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent them from burning. After such a light and delectable savory tart, I can assure you there are lots of them on the way…
Pate Brisee (Tart Dough)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cold, cut into small cubes
- 2 tablespoons ice-cold water
Method
- Cut the butter into small cubes and put in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt and pulse to combine.
- Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- With machine running, add ice water through feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky.
- Test by squeezing a small amount of dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Turn out dough onto a parchment paper, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
- The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
Tomato and Feta Cheese Tart
Ingredients
- Pate Brisee, chilled in the refrigerator for at least an hour
- 1 1/4 cups feta cheese
- 35-40 cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Few sprigs of fresh thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Preheat your oven at 450 F.
- Butter and line a 9-inch tart pan with the dough.
- Crumble the feta cheese and lay on the bottom. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Arrange the cherry tomatoes on top.
- Decrease your oven temperature to 425 F.
- Drizzle 1 tbsp of the olive oil on top and bake for 35-40 minutes until the edges of the tart dough are slightly browned.
- Take the tart out of the oven, sprinkle the fresh thyme sprigs and continue baking for 10 more minutes.
- Take the tart out of the oven, drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil on top and let stand at room temperature until serving.
It looks really delicious, Cenk. And I agree that leaving the stems on was a good idea!
Cenk, tart looks really delicious! I haven’t tried eating the stems before, does it really taste ok?
I have an advice for you; bake the tart without cutting the excess pastry on the edges. Cut the edges with a sharp knife (scrape the pastry by holding the knife horizontal to the edge of the tin) after it’s cooked and cooled down. I just discovered this technique, pastry doesn’t shrink during baking and you get beautifully shaped base every time.
They tasted fine to me. You can try one and decide for yourself.
Thanks for the tip!
Just gorgeous and so appropriate for a warm dinner outside!
i started reading this blog 6-7 months ago and you are one of the few bloggers that i would like to meet if i had a chance to. your love of life, cooking, baking, food, friends, colors, photos, art just drove me into your blog and keeps me coming back to read more of you. just reading your blog makes me feel good. thanks for being in my life virtually by creating a blog like this, it’s a little secret daily treasure for me. i hope you never get bored and continue blogging.
by the way the tart seems delicious and yummy. it seems as if its meant to be eaten during a late breakfast or a 5 o’clock tea served at the balcony. 🙂 keep cooking, baking and posting. wished there were even more to look at. i love it and can’t get enough of it. 🙂
take care, bye
Ayşe – Thank you very much for such a heart-warming comment. Readers like you and comments like these motivate me to do better. I am very glad to hear that you enjoy reading my posts. I have a full-time job and I am doing my best to post regularly. I hope to post more, but there is only so much time to bake, take photos and write about these little adventures. Thanks again. Your comment really made my day!
you’re welcome 🙂 although i can’t always reply to your posts you can be sure that i’m reading your blog! kolay gelsin!
Cenk this tart is fabulous!! I’ve been starving myself since last Saturday, eating only salad and soup to lose couple of kilos before holiday :), but couldn’t resist this lovely looking tart. I tried it yesterday and it turned out so yummy, so scrumptious! My AGA was too hot for the cherries so they were a bit burnt but other than that it was perfect. The smell of the thyme was irresistible so I ate three huge slices and manage to keep two (fairly small :)) pieces for my hubby. I have to add stems tasted really good!!
Thanks for this beautiful recipe, YOU ARE A GREAT COOK!!!
I actually love tomatos and this tarte looks delicius.In may I made a tatin with cherry tomatos and onions ,but i think that this that you amde is fantastic!
Thank you Sylvia!
cherry tomatoes and fresh thyme… they made this tart look just perfect:) and when the cheese gets into the equation i’m sure this’s just as delicious as good-looking. perfect for summer evenings. gonna try it most definetly.
This is exactly the kind of food I like to eat.
Hafta sonu yapilacak parti icin bu tarti yapmak istiyorum, malzemeleri iki katina cikarirsam bir dengesizlik olur mu? Yaparken daha buyuk bir kalip kullanacagim.
Merhaba – Her seyi ayni oranda artirdiginiz zaman bir sorun olacagini sanmiyorum. Yalniz uyarmak isterim. Hamur cok kirilgan. Cok buyuk ebatta bir tarti kalibindan servis tabagina aktarirken zorluk cekebilirsiniz. Ufak boyda iki ayri tart yaparsaniz bence daha kolay olabilir. Afiyet olsun.
Isin o kismini hic dusunmemistim. 🙂 Tesekkur ederim. Iki tane yapmak daha mantikli.
I’m pretty sure the stems are poisonous(presumably mildly since you are still posting)—they are in the nightshade family much like potatoes.
Ha! I didn’t know that, Sally.
Congratulations on yr much deserved win on DMBLGiT 🙂 Looks very pretty!
Thank you Suganya!
Wow! This looks fantastic! What a beautiful recipe.
Thank you Andy.
I’ve tried this tart, it was awesome. Thank you, thank you…
This looks really good!! Thanks for posting this! Your pictures are amazing too!
Wow that’s a really beautiful tart! It sounds delicious.
Dear Cenk, I made the tart this past weekend and it was delicious! I’m not a big fan of Feta cheese, regardless, it was wonderful. Thanks for sharing it with us.
An amazing tart – thank you!!