Heirloom Tomato Tart with Basil Sauce by Our Balanced Bowl

Heirloom Tomato Tart

I was so thrilled when Garden Valley Market reached out to me and asked that I develop a recipe using their product AND write a guest post on their blog! I moved to Burlington 4 years ago and have always loved popping in, being greeted by their friendly staff and always finding top notch produce.

I knew instantly that since it’s finally Summer that I wanted to develop a recipe using heirloom tomatoes. Fun fact: This is only the second Summer of my entire life that I have liked tomatoes! I always hoped that my taste buds would eventually change and lo and behold - they did! Another fun fact: In college, I worked at a produce stand in my hometown. I missed out on so many experiences to try the beautiful tomatoes while I was there - so you can bet that I’m making up for lost time now!

So what even are heirloom tomatoes?

According to some quick research I found on Bon Appetit, “The seeds are what make an heirloom tomato an heirloom tomato. They are passed down from season to season, taken by the farmers from the tomato plants that produced the best fruit. This process allows farmers to select for certain desirable traits like juiciness, size, shape, or color. Heirloom tomatoes are also often open-pollinated, which means that they are pollinated naturally, by birds, insects, wind, or human hands. No weird science-y genetic modification here.”

Basically, these are super cool, quirky tomatoes that don’t look like OR taste your regular ol grocery store ones. They might look super wonky but you can bet they will be extra juicy, most likely pretty large, and full of delicious flavor.

Let me tell you a little bit about this tart:

• It’s baked on a pre-made puff pastry because it’s summer and no one has time to make puff pastry from scratch when you’re just trying to live your summer vibe life

• It’s loaded with fresh, juicy heirloom tomatoes (ranging from german johnson to cherokee purple!)

• Topped with the most insanely fresh basil sauce made

• Also topped with super creamy and tangy feta cheese

• Best part: you can eat it with your hands! Minimal cleanup required! Yes!

It’s insanely easy and the perfect easy weeknight dinner!

Let’s get into how to make it:

You begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. I used a specific brand of puff pastry that I loved called Wewalka. I love it because it’s European style, contains no lard, and you don’t have to thaw it like normal puff pastry. It also comes with parchment paper! If desired, you can roll out the puff pastry to make it larger or more rustic looking.

Once you get the puff pastry to your desired size, poke holes all in it! You want to do this to ensure that the air can help escape from the bottom and it doesn’t just “puff” up.

Next, place it directly in the oven to par-bake for about 12-15 minutes. It’s important to do this step because otherwise the bottom of the puff pastry could be soggy.

While this is baking, slice your tomatoes into thin slices and set them aside.

When your puff pastry is done par-baking, arrange the tomatoes on top of it to cover. Add a drizzle of olive oil, a generous pinch of salt and a crack of black pepper. Place back in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

While the tart is cooking for the second half, whip up the basil garlic sauce! Place 1.5 cups of fresh basil leaves into a food processor along with 2 cloves minced garlic, salt and olive oil. Pulse until it’s blended.

By now, your tart should be done! Take it out of the oven, add a generous portion of feta cheese on top and dollop basil sauce if desired (or you could also use the basil sauce for dipping!)

Eat while warm or at room temperature! Enjoy!

Haylie Abele shares mostly healthy, occasionally indulgent recipes on her fun and lighthearted blog, Our Balanced Bowl. For more delicious, easy recipes follow her on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or find her on her blog!

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Heirloom Tomato Tart with Basil Sauce

Ingredients

Heirloom Tomato Tart
1 lb Garden Valley Market heirloom tomatoes (about 3 medium heirloom tomatoes, any variety)
1 Wewalka sheet of puff pastry
½ cup feta cheese (more if desired)
Fresh basil leaves for garnish
Olive oil
Salt and pepper (for taste)

Basil Garlic Sauce
3 cloves minced garlic
1.5 heaping cups of fresh basil leaves
¼ cup olive oil (more if needed)  
¼ tsp salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare your puff pastry on parchment paper and large baking sheet. Roll out if desired to make it bigger. Poke the entire puff pastry several times with a fork to allow the air to escape. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

• While the puff pastry is baking, slice your tomatoes thinly. Set aside.

• Once the puff pastry is done par-baking, remove it and place the tomatoes on top of the pastry. Add a drizzle of olive oil on top of the tomatoes as well as a generous pinch of salt and crack of black pepper. Put back in the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

• While the tart is finishing up, mince your garlic. Add this and 1.5 heaping cups of basil to a food processor along with ¼ cup of olive oil and ¼ tsp of salt. Pulse until fully blended into a sauce.

• By now, your tart should be done. Remove from oven. Sprinkle generously with feta cheese and fresh basil leaves. Dollop the basil garlic sauce on top as well or use it as a dipping sauce. Enjoy warm or at room temperature!

Sources: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-are-heirloom-tomatoes

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Haylie Abele is the creator of Our Balanced Bowl. Local to Burlington, NC, Haylie loves all foods, fresh ingredients, and creating new recipes. She’s also married to her forever love, Benjamin. If you ever get a chance to meet her, ask her about Ben, and see how her eyes light up. It’s darling.

Haylie has also struggled with an eating disorder in her life, and she shares a bit on her blog about how her thought process finally shifted. Thank you, Haylie, for sharing your story of eating all foods in BALANCE, and creating yummy recipes that inspire us all to eat healthy, while also inspiring us to ENJOY the indulgent foods we eat.

Haylie shares mostly healthy, occasionally indulgent recipes on her fun and lighthearted blog, Our Balanced Bowl. For more delicious, easy recipes follow her on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or find her on her blog!

Rosemary, Vegetable Medley Frittata

We, at Garden Valley Market, are SO glad that Spring is here, and one of the main reasons is because of delicious recipes made with FRESH and LOCAL vegetables. There are so many recipe options, but we can only choose one. This time we decided to make a vegetable medley frittata, including our vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh zucchini and onion, hand picked rosemary directly from a local garden, and some fresh local farm eggs provided by a local family here in Burlington, North Carolina.

When picking out your produce, it’s important to examine each piece and choose it according to your needs. Asking yourself the questions like:

When am I going to be using this zucchini?
How big of an onion am I needing?
How ripe of a tomato will I need for my recipe I’m making tomorrow?
Where is this grown?

Those are all questions that our staff at Garden Valley Farmers Market can help you with if you’re unsure. And that’s why shopping local can be so much better than going to other stores. Why? Because we only buy from farmers who grow grade 1 produce. We also only provide field grown produce, and absolutely no hot house. We stand behind our product and want nothing but the best produce for you, especially when you’re making yummy recipes, like a Frittata, for your family.

WHAT IS A FRITTATA?
Basically it’s an omelet, but it’s cooked faster than an omelet, and usually served at room temperature.
Frittatas are also great because they don’t take a ton of time to prepare, and they can usually serve a large group (unless you have a family that likes to EAT, then you might want to serve up two of these).

add eggs and spices to bowl

whisk rosemary, salt, and pepper together with eggs

chop up veggies

combine all of veggies into skillet and cook for about 7 minutes

add handful of kale into mixture and cook until wilt

pour egg mixture over vegetables and cook until edges start to set

cook in oven at 350 F for about 15 minutes, then on broil HIGH for about 2 minutes

let sit for 5 minutes, then serve

ROSEMARY, VEGETABLE MEDLEY FRITTATA
Servings 8-10 people
Total Time 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

+ 8 large eggs
+ salt and pepper to taste
+ olive oil (for the pan)
+ 1 small better boy tomato
+ 2 sprigs of rosemary
+ 1/2 medium sized red pepper
+ 1/2 medium sized zucchini
+ 1/2 small vidalia onion
+ handful of fresh kale
(optional- feta cheese for garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

+ Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with rack in center position.
+ In a bowl, combine the eggs, sale, pepper, and rosemary. Whisk well.
+ Heat olive oil in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat.
+ Add red bell pepper, onion, tomato, zucchini. Sauté until softened, about 7 minutes.
+ Add kale to vegetables and cook until it starts to wilt.
+ Distribute the vegetables evenly in skillet and pour egg mixture into skillet.
+ Cook until eggs are just beginning to set around edges, about 2-3 minutes.
+ Place skillet in center rack of oven. Bake frittata for about 15 minutes.
+ Turn broiler on HIGH for 2 minutes. Be careful to watch to prevent over-browning.
+ Remove from oven. Let frittata sit for 5 minutes before serving.
+ ENJOY!

*You can also garnish with a fresh sprig of rosemary and crumble some feta cheese for an added “wow factor” that your guests (and yourself) will LOVE.