Tomato Mozzarella Tart with Basil Crust

Garden-picked tomatoes, fresh basil, 2 kinds of cheese...heaven.

A girl on the online cooking board I frequent posted this tomato-mozzarella-basil recipe the other day and I thought it looked amazingly delicious. I knew I had to make it, and soon, before all my tomato plant is bare. I love caprese salad, so I i

This is such an easy to throw together recipe, using just a few simple ingredients. Note that you do need to chill the tart crust for an hour though, so make sure to plan in advance. Also, while this recipe calls for a tart pan, I don't have one, so I just used my regular pie dish.


My husband called this a fancy pizza and said e should serve it as appetizers if we ever have a dinner party. I totally agree!

Recipes adapted from Pink Parsley; originally from The Complete Indian Vegetarian Cookbook

Printable recipe

Basil Crust

Ingredients
1/3 cup fresh basil
1 medium clove of garlic
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, cut into large pieces
4-5 tablespoons ice water

Directions
Place basil and garlic in the bowl of your food processor. Turn on and process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the flour and salt, and pulse to combine. Add the butter, a few pieces at a time, and pulse until the butter is in pea-sized bits.

Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time, and briefly pulse following each addition. After 4 tablespoons, pulse for several seconds to see if the dough begins to form a ball. If not, add another tablespoon of water and pulse.

Remove the dough from the food processor, and place onto a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Using your hands, flatten into a 5" circle. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for one hour.


After chilling, roll the dough into a 12" circle, using a rolling pin. Place the dough in your tart pan, pushing into the bottom and sides. Trim off any excess dough.


Tomato Mozzarella Tart



Ingredients
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
2 large tomatoes (about one pound), cut into thin slices
salt
pepper
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced
1 recipe basil dough (see above)

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Once dough is placed in the tart pan, line the bottom of the pan with the mozzarella cheese slices. Arrange the tomato slices on top of the cheese and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan. Drizzle the olive oil over the top and sprinkle with the minced basil and oregano.



Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbly and the crust is golden. Let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.