Tomato And Goat Cheese Crostata
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ lb unsalted butter, very cold and diced
- 3 tbs ice water
- kosher salt
Tart:
- 4 tbs unsalted butter
- 4 cups chopped leeks, white and green parts
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, minced
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb heirloom tomatoes, cored and sliced ⅜ inch thick (if heirloom tomatoes are not available, you can substitute another variety of ripe tomatoes)
- extra virgin olive oil
- 4 oz creamy fresh goat cheese, crumbled
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk (for egg wash)
- chopped fresh basil leaves and chives for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Place the flour and ½ teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse to combine. Add the diced butter (make sure that it's very cold). Pulse 12 to 15 times until the butter is the size of coarse crumbs. While pulsing, add all of the ice water through the feed tube. Stop pulsing just before the dough comes together.
- Place the dough on a floured work surface and form it into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 450 °F. Clean and chop the leeks (*see note).
- Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the leeks, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Sauté for about 8-10 minutes, until the leeks are tender and slightly browned. Remove from heat.
- Slice the tomatoes crosswise with a serrated knife (use only the pretty center slices and reserve the rest for another use). Place the tomatoes on a plate, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.
- Roll the dough out on a well floured work surface to about an 11-inch circle. Place it on a sheet of parchment paper. Transfer the paper along with the dough onto an inverted sheet pan. Spread the leek mixture over the pastry, leaving a 1½-inch border. Crumble the goat cheese evenly on top. Layer the tomatoes in overlapping slices over the goat cheese. Fold the pastry edges up and over the tomatoes, crimping them lightly. Brush the pastry with the egg wash. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until brown and bubbly.
- Allow the pastry to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh herbs (if using) and a bit of salt. Cut and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
*To clean the leeks, start by removing the roots and the dark green ends. Chop the leeks and then submerge them into a bowl of cold water. Stir the leeks with your hand to remove any dirt or grit between the layers. Allow the leeks to remain in the water bath for a few minutes. Using your hands or a slotted spoon, remove the leeks from the water and place them into the colander of a salad spinner. Give the leeks another rinse under cold running water and then spin them dry.