Heirloom Tomato Tart with Mozzarella and Pesto

I’ve been meaning to share this recipe with you for a while… And, since summer has unofficially come to a close now that Labor Day has come and gone, I figured I’d better do it sooner rather than later.

This summer, more than ever, our meals have revolved around whatever is available from our CSA or the farmer’s market. In the past, even though we had a CSA, I still did quite a bit of shopping at the grocery store to fill in the “gaps.”  However, because I’ve been especially conscious about what food I am feeding to Maddie, my grocery store shopping has pretty much been reduced to a few odds and ends that I can’t find at the market.

As I mentioned before, we’ve been eating much simpler meals these days. This particular evening, I threw together a quick heirloom tomato tart with a whole wheat crust, mozzarella, and pesto. I served it with freshly steamed corn on the cob and a yellow watermelon. Madison got to nibble her way through the entire meal (mozzarella and tomatoes are two of her favorite foods at the moment), which is my new goal in the kitchen.

I’ll be honest with you… I didn’t write down what I did when I made this tart. But, I didn’t need to. It’s one of those recipes where a recipe really isn’t needed.  And, the photos pretty much tell the story. I’ve summarized what I did below, but I think you’ll find that you can use whatever you have on hand.

If you do it right, this tart should taste like summer. To me, that meant fresh heirloom tomatoes from the CSA and pesto made from basil in my garden. Want to make your own? Pick out some beautiful tomatoes from the farmer’s market.  Find a cheese that you love… It doesn’t have to be mozzarella. No pesto? A drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of flaked sea salt on top would be lovely. The key is to let the fresh ingredients shine. After all, that’s what summer is all about.

Heirloom Tomato Tart with Mozzarella and Pesto
Makes one 9-inch tart (6 – 8 servings)

• Dough for a single pie crust (I made a whole wheat crust based on this recipe)
• Pesto (about 1/4 cup or so)
• Heirloom tomatoes
• Fresh mozzarella cheese (approximately 8 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Roll out the pie dough and transfer it to a tart pan.  Press the dough into the pan and trim away any excess.

Spread the pesto in the bottom of the tart.  Arrange the tomatoes and mozzarella cheese on top of the pesto.

Bake for about 45 minutes, until bubbly and golden on top. Enjoy.