Fennel and Tomato Tart

My Roma tomatoes this year are my largest yet, though not quite as big as the ones in the market.  Close, and there's a lot of them.  I expect too many to ripen at once, so I can do a batch of oven-dried tomatoes.

The first few tomatoes combined with the last fennel bulb as the main ingredients of this very summery tart.

The tomatoes can go onto this raw if they're thinly sliced, but you have to cook the fennel first.  Caramelized with the shallot, this whole tart turns into the sweetest vegetable pie you've ever had, no sugar added.

There's also a decent amount of cheese involved.  I put the powdered parmesan stuff in the crust with chopped fennel frond, then sprinkled shredded mozzarella on the pie itself.  This isn't a pizza, and I didn't add the eggs needed for a quiche, but you get something richer than a bruschetta.

Room temperature or slightly warm, this can be a light lunch by itself.  Pair it with a bit of fish, chicken, or a salad, and you have dinner.

Crust
1 tsp sugar
2 Tb water
*1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 C flour, chilled
*1/4 C grated parmesan
*2 Tb fennel fronds
2 Tb shortening, chilled and in cubes
1/4 C butter, chilled and in cubes
1/2 tsp salt
a few turns of cracked pepper
more chilled water as necessary

1.  Stir together sugar, water, and vinegar until sugar dissolves.  Chill.

2.  In bowl of food processor, pulse together flour, parmesan, salt, pepper, and fennel.  I subbed 1/4 C whole wheat flour, which darkens my crust slightly.

3.  Pulse in shortening until mixture is sandy.  Pulse in butter until about halfway broken down.  Add water mixture and pulse until it comes together.  If still too crumbly to form into a ball, pulse in cold water a couple of teaspoons at a time.  Crust can go from dry to soggy very quickly.

4.  Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  This rests the dough and allows all the flour to hydrate evenly.

5.  Roll out dough and place in a tart pan with removable bottom.  Mine happens to be a 10" round.  You can use whatever shape you have.  Chill until ready to use.  I made mine a day ahead and put it in the freezer.  As for the scraps, roll them out thinly, cut into squares, and bake as crackers.  They make excellent parmesan crisps!

Tart
*1 fennel bulb
1 shallot
1 Tb butter (the real stuff works better for this)
1/2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
*1/2 C shredded mozzarella
*1/2 lb Roma tomatoes

1.  Thinly slice fennel and shallot in "rings".  Reserve a bit of chopped fennel frond for later.  The fennel will break into celery-like slices as you go.  Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and add vegetables.  Sauté until they start to soften, stirring frequently.  Add sugar, salt, and pepper and cook until very soft and caramelized.  Set aside.

2.  Thinly slice tomatoes crosswise.  Preheat oven to 375º and get your crust out of the freezer.

3.  Layer on the shredded cheese first, to prevent it from burning and to provide a moisture shield for the crust.  Spread on cooked fennel mixture, then arrange tomato slices.  Sprinkle top with reserved fennel fronds.  Bake until crust is done, about 30 minutes.

4.  Allow to cool until crust is set, then remove tart from pan.  Slice and serve.

Serves about 6

Difficulty rating  :-0