I’m normally not a huge fan of tomatoes but when summer rolls around and the heirlooms hit the farmer’s market, I go gaga bananas for them! It could be that I’m more taken by their dazzling colors and shapes than anything else but regardless of the reason, I’m always looking for ways to incorporate them into our summer alfresco meals.

This tomato tart is a favorite at our house. I got the recipe ages ago from a Williams-Sonoma catalog and I would love to share it with you.

Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
10 Tbs. (1 ¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, diced
2 Tbs. ice water
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 plum (or 3-4 heirloom) tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeded
8 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
½ cup slivered fresh basil leaves

Using an electric mixer with a flat beater, mix flour and ½ tsp. salt on low speed, 15 sec. Add butter; mix to form pea-sized crumbs, 30-40 sec. Add water 1 Tbs. at a time; mix just until dough comes together. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Shape into a 5” disk. Wrap tightly; refrigerate at least 1 hr. Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 400 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to fit a 9” round tart pan. Press dough into pan, trim to ½” around rim and fold in overhang. Press to make sides thicker than bottom; refrigerate 10 min. In a nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, warm 1/3 cup oil. Add garlic; sauté until fragrant, 1 min. Add salt, pepper and tomatoes, sliced side down until golden, 4-5 min. Brush pastry with 1 Tbs. oil; top with cheese, basil and tomatoes. Drizzle with pan juices; season with salt and pepper. Bake until crust is golden, about 1 hr. Serves 4.