Ali Cooks: Rustic Tomato & Cheese Margherita Tart

First, to make it clear in case it was not known previously:  Brian HATES tomatoes.  I'm just lucky enough to be able to make dishes with only half containing tomatoes so that he'll still eat dinner with me!

And yes, the below dish is such an example.  This recipe for a Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tart has been in my collection for quite awhile, and that's usually the best reason for me to try it out.  (We won't mention the fact that I intended to cook it yesterday!)

Mondays are typically my Capstone Days.  Meaning, I usually intend to work on my capstone allll day.  I was mostly successful today, but I kept getting brain blocks.  I'm making adequate progress, but it certainly doesn't feel that way when I'm stuck.  (Right now I'm typing this post prior to making dinner because I've reached a particularly bad brain block and want to just be done with capstone writing for the day.  However, I've told myself I can't start making dinner until at least 4:30, since Brian won't be home until 5:15...)

Results:  Uhhh...  So I'm a little embarrassed to admit what I did to tonight's dinner...  I FORGOT TO ADD THE MOZZARELLA!  Seriously. it's true.  The ricotta got spread on the tart, I garnished half of it with tomatoes...and then I threw it in the oven.  That on top of my tart pan being too big for the recipe, I'd say I could do for a re-do of this one.  

Goodness, this week isn't off to a great start in the kitchen with my bread fail yesterday and then today's tart errors.  Fingers crossed any future experiments bode better results!

Rustic Tomato & Cheese Margherita Tart

*adapted from FamilyFreshCooking.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

Paprika

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbs water

1 tsp + 1 tsp dried thyme

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

 Salt and pepper

Cherry tomatoes

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk the flour, baking soda, and paprika in a bowl.  Add the olive oil and water, combining with a spoon.  Work in the thyme after placing the dough on a floured surface.  Knead until well combined (the dough will be crumbly).  Press the dough into a tart pan, ensuring that it is distributed evenly and, if possible, pressed up against the sides of the pan.  (My pan was too large, so the dough barely covered the bottom.)  Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

For the filling, mix the ricotta with the remaining thyme, salt, pepper, and paprika.  When the tart is removed from the oven, spread the ricotta mixture over the tart surface.  Sprinkle the mozzarella on top and place the sliced tomatoes in a pattern.  The tart will need approximately 10 minutes to bake in the oven.  Four to five minutes under the broiler will allow the tart to brown, if desired.