My Father’s Tomatoes

No one can grow a tomato like my father.One of my earliest and most fond memories is of standing next to the tomato barrel on the side of our house with my dad eating tomatoes right off the vine. I remember how the tomatoes smelled like the vine, how the juice would drip down my shirt and how irritated my mother grew when she found there were no fresh tomatoes for her salad. Thinking back, I don’t believe my father really intended the plant to be used for anything other than eating tomatoes fresh from the vine.

My father grew up in the Willamette Valley, his father tended cattle and his mother grew vegetables. After my parents were married and my siblings and I came around they moved us all to a suburb near Seattle, it had a beautiful yard with a forest at one side, but wasn’t exactly ideal for growing crops. That however never stopped my father from growing tomatoes in an old wine barrel on the side of the house.

While living in the Hamptons, under the guidance of my father, I began to tend my very own vegetable garden. The centerpiece naturally being a selection of heirloom tomatoes book ended with San Marzano plants. During those summers we ate our tomatoes in dozens of ways from soup to salsa and each time taking great enjoyment from toodleing out to the garden with my colander and stuffing my face as I picked tomatoes for our meal.

Five years ago, my parents moved to a new home with a sloping third of an acre and plenty of sunlight. Here, my father’s tomatoes have graduated from one plant confined to a wine barrel to a large selection ranging from San Marzanos to my special request of Green Zebras planted in various light filled locations in his beautiful almost wild looking terraced gardens.

I tried to bring my father’s tomatoes back to the Hamptons with me after a visit a few summers ago. I made it to Atlanta before several crushed tomatoes anointed my leg with their juice and had no choice but to ditch them before angering my seat mate on the next flight.

After four years in the Hamptons, I have returned to Seattle and am within driving distance of my father’s garden. I have been on the edge of my seat waiting for the tomatoes to ripen (it’s been a slow season this year), and last week I received the call. Oh glorious day! The tomatoes were ready.

I drove to my parents home in Edgewood and picked bags of the reddest, plumpest tomatoes. My brain swirled in a tornado of soup, sandwiches and sides, but when I had to choose one to share with you my mind centered on a rather successful tart I first made a few years ago.

Oddly enough, I got the idea a few years ago while watching Rudy Maxa’s show “Europe to the Max” this particular episode taking place in Bordeaux (I think). The host attended a cooking school where the prepared a tart filled with tomatoes and Roquefort. I couldn’t get it out of my head. One mild Saturday not long after, I picked up a bottle of Pugliese sparkling wine, farm fresh San Marzano tomatoes and a wedge of Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm. I set to creating a special dish for a dinner celebrating nothing in particular, but toasting everything from Rudy Maxa to the rouge turkey hiding in our forest.

I have two incarnations of this recipe to share with you today, it was Sophie’s Choice and I couldn’t make it. The original is very paired down and delicious. Simply arrange the ingredients in a par baked tart shell and it’s off to the oven. The second is one part tart, one part quiche and one part clafoutis. I can’t decide which one is better, it really all depends on my mood at the time, so you’ll have to judge for yourself.

The Original Blue Tomato Tart  (the “O.G.”)

1 Recipe Pate Brisee*, par baked for 10 minutes

6-8 oz Blue Cheese such as a Roquefort or Bayley Hazen Blue, crumbled

1 Small Garlic Clove

1 TBS Fresh Thyme Leaves + a few more for the top

1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper+ a more to sprinkle on top

3-5 San Marzano Tomatoes depending on size, sliced thickly and seeded

Preheat the oven to 375F, (If you par baked the shell it should already be there).

Cover your par baked tart shell with the blue cheese.  Grate the garlic clove evenly over the cheese and sprinkle with the thyme and pepper. Arrange your tomatoes in concentric circles and sprinkle with a little more thyme and pepper. Place into the oven for 25 minutes or so depending on the fussiness of your oven. Allow to cool before slicing, I prefer it at room temp.

The “Quichie” Version

1 Recipe Pate Brisee*, par baked 10 minutes

6-8 San Marzano Tomatoes, cut into large wedges, seeded and pat down with a paper towel

8 oz. Your Favorite Blue Cheese at room temperature

3 Eggs

1/4 cup Whole Milk or Half and Half

1 TBS Fresh Thyme

1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Place your cheese, eggs, milk, pepper and thyme in a food processor and pulse until relatively smooth. Arrange the tomato wedges in a fan-like configuration in the bottom of your tart shell. Pour the cheese mixture over the tomatoes and place in the oven for 20-to 25 minutes, depending on the temperament  your oven.

* In my post several months back about the Green Pea and Chevre Tart I mentioned that there is no crust I like better than one I found on Chocolate & Zucchini a few years back. I still stand by that, which is why I have not provided my own. The one pictures was my latest ill fated attempt at an olive oil tart shell, please do the kind thing and ignore it.

** I would be remiss if I failed to tell you that my grandmother mentioned above grew the best lemon cucumbers I have ever eaten. To this day, no cuke can compare.

***Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day all you scurvy dogs!

If I had to describe my week using a color it would be beige. Between fighting off a cold, my impending move to a place yet to be revealed and a debacle with fig pate, this week has left me decidedly non-plussed. So, how do I shake off this beige colored week? Why, by baking a brightly colored tart of course.

The first step in salvaging this week was to hop in the car and head to Lucy’s Whey for a really special chevre to use in the tart. Catherine and Lucy* helped me to choose the right one for my tart and in the end we settled on a Hoja Santo wrapped chevre that worked beautifully with the citrus and basil notes in the tart. Those ladies really know their cheese.

Normally, I would wait until summer and have all of you shelling fresh peas, but it’s February, there is a storm outside and I have a bag of peas in the freezer and am in need of some color. This recipe provides a fresh dose of color and flavor that is really welcome at the end of a week like mine. I think this tart serves as a reminder that spring, as well as a better week is just up ahead. Enjoy!

Green Pea and Chevre Tart

1 recipe pate brisee**

Splash of olive oil

2 shallots, diced

10 oz. peas, thawed (either fresh or frozen will work)

8 oz chevre, crumbled and at room temp (I used Hoja Santo, but use your favorite)

1 TBS basil, chopped (optional)

1/3 cup milk

3 large eggs, beaten

1 TBS lemon juice

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Prepare pate brisee according to directions.

While your shell is par baking, sauté the shallots in a splash of olive oil until soft, but not brown. Add the shallots, peas, basil, sea salt and pepper to the food processor and pulse until well incorporated. Add in the remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth. Pour the mixture into the par baked tart shell and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes. You will know when it is done because the filling doesn’t wobble when you move the pan.

Allow the tart to cool. Serve either cold or at room temp with a garnish of basil or lemon zest. Add a dollop of whipped chevre on top to give it a more whimsical appearance.

Note: For this recipe I use a deeper quiche pan instead of the traditional shallow tart pan. You can use whatever you like.

*Lucy is Catherine’s business partner, but is not the shop’s namesake. Lucy’s Whey comes from a childhood nickname given by Catherine’s brother.

**I have made several of my own versions of pate brisee, but I always come back to the recipe I found on Chocolate and Zucchini a few years ago.