Tomato Caprese Tart Recipe

This Tomato Caprese Tart is easy to make with fresh peak season tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and a pesto - all tucked into a tart shell. Use it for an appetizer, side dish or vegetarian dinner.

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This recipe turns the popular Tomato Caprese Salad into a Tart.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Tomato Caprese Tart, Tomato Tart

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 10

Total Time 1 10

Servings people

Calories 182.1kcal

Author Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

1 10" pie crust, store bought or homemade
2 pounds tomatoes, ripe but firm (see ingredient notes)
Salt
½ cup basil pesto lightly packed
5 ounces mozzarella cheese sliced ¼" thick
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese optional

Instructions

If making your own crust, line a tart pan with a removable bottom with the pie dough, and par-bake it following these instructions until it's golden brown.
If using a store-bought frozen pie crust, thaw it according to the package directions, and roll it out using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to the size of your tart pan.
Pro-tip: I always recommend lining the tart with parchment paper and pie weights (or dried beans) while it bakes. The dough wants to lift up in the oven even when docked with lots of fork pricks.
While the crust is baking, core and slice the tomatoes ¼" thick. Lightly salt, and let them drain on paper towels or a cooling tray nested in a baking sheet.
When the crust is finished par-baking, lower the oven temperature to 375˚F.
Cover the bottom of the crust with ⅔ of the ¼" thick slices of mozzarella. Slice the mozzarella pieces to fit in an even layer, instead of overlapping them. The cheese creates a barrier between the crust and the tomatoes, preventing the crust from becoming soggy.
Layer the tomatoes on top of the cheese, overlapping them in rows.
Drizzle the pesto over the tomatoes. If it's too dry to drizzle, add a little olive oil. Otherwise add the pesto just before serving.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and tuck the remaining slices of mozzarella between the rows of tomatoes. Sprinkle the (optional) Parmesan cheese over the top of the tart if using. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Cool on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before slicing with a sharp knife into individual appetizer squares. If you didn't add the pesto earlier, add a dollop to each piece now.
Serve with sturdy toothpicks.

Notes

Tips For Making a Winner Tomato Caprese Tart

Since there aren't a lot of ingredients to this recipe, the quality of each ingredient needs to shine.
The tomatoes should be ripe but firm. Pass up the soft ones for this recipe. They'll completely fall apart when baked.
Drain the tomatoes. But if you're in a hurry, this isn't as critical as you might think. The mozzarella layer does a great job of protecting the crust from tomato juices.
Don't slice the tomatoes too thick. Slicing them ¼" thick is perfect when creating bite-sized pieces when the tomato tart is baked.
Be sure to par-bake the crust before add the filling.
If you use your own pesto, it should have more oil than you normally use, so that it can be drizzled over the tomatoes and baked. The herbs will dry a bit during baking, making it easy to serve on small bite-sized pieces.
A mini-chopper is the best quick way of making this pesto. A food processor and blender both result in unevenly chopped basil and parsley.
Cool for 15 minutes before slicing, to allow the cheese to firm up a little. Use a sharp chef's knife to slice them.
This recipe is designed to be an appetizer, but I've also served it as both a side dish and vegetarian main with a large kale salad (freshly picked from my container garden on the deck!)

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