Tomato & Goat Cheese Crostata

Serves 4 Intermediate

Photo: Quentin Bacon

  • For the pastry:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • Kosher salt
  • ¼ pound (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, diced
  • 3 tablespoons ice water
  • For the tart:
  • 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
  • 4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts, spun-dried (4 leeks)
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound heirloom tomatoes, cored and sliced ³⁄₈ inch thick (see note)
  • Good olive oil
  • 4 ounces creamy fresh goat cheese, crumbled
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash
  • Chopped fresh basil leaves and chives

For the pastry, place the flour and ½ teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse to combine. Add the diced butter and toss carefully with your fingers to coat each piece of butter with flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, until the butter is the size of peas. While pulsing, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Pulse to combine, stopping just before the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form it into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat the 4 tablespoons butter in a large (12-inch) sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the leeks, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and sauté for 8 minutes, until the leeks are tender and starting to brown. Set aside. Place the tomatoes on a plate, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Set aside.

On a floured board, roll the dough to an 11-inch circle, then place it on a sheet of parchment paper. Turn a sheet pan upside down and transfer the paper to the inverted pan. Spread the leeks on the pastry, leaving a 1½-inch border. Crumble the goat cheese evenly on top. Arrange the tomatoes over the goat cheese, overlapping the slices because they will shrink. Turn the edges of the pastry up and over the tomatoes, crimping so they lie flat. Brush the pastry with the egg wash. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is nicely browned. Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, sprinkle lightly with the fresh herbs and salt, cut in wedges, and serve warm.

Copyright 2020, Modern Comfort Food, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, All Rights Reserved

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