Tarte aux tomates et beurre de citrons verts (tomato tartpt1

6 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
A bit of All-purpose Flour
½ pounds Frozen Puff Pastry; thawed
2 pounds Ripe Tomatoes; cored, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 large Lemon ; Juice of
2 Shallots or Green Onions; (Mild), minced
2 Cloves Garlic; minced
½ teaspoon Fresh Parsley; minced
½ teaspoon Fresh Basil; minced
½ teaspoon Fresh Thyme; minced
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste
1 large Lime ; Juice of
8 tablespoons (1/4 pound) Unsalted Butter; cut into single tablespoon portions
2 tablespoons Heavy Cream
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
½ cup Ripe Tomatoes; peeled, seeded, and diced for garnish
Six 4-inch Tartlet Pans
Dried Beans or Rice for use as Pastry Weights

Directions

TART

LIME BUTTER

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

Preheat oven to 400-F degrees and set up the mise-en-place. (Mise-en-place defined: French cookery technique whereby you arrange each ingredient in the prepared portion and sequence you'll require it to prepare your recipe.

Also known as an invaluable timesaver.) Sprinkle a bit of flour on a clean surface and roll out the pastry dough to an approximately 10 by 15-inch rectangle. With a sharp knife, cut the pastry into six equal-sized squares, each about 5 inches on a side. Gently place each square into a 4-inch tartlet pan and trim any excess dough from the edges.

With a fork, prick the bottom of the pastry all over its surface. Line the pastry shells with foil cut to size and spread dried beans or rice over the foil. (If you don't weight the pastry, you'll end up with uneven puffing during baking, which makes for an ugly, unbalanced tart.) Set the tartlet pans on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Remove the foil and weights, then carefully remove the delicate baked pastry shells from the tartlet pans. Set them on a wire rack to cool completely. (Don't turn off the oven, though; you're not finished yet!) While the shells are baking, place the chopped tomatoes in a colander and let drain for at least 15 minutes. Pat the diced tomatoes dry with paper towels. (It's important to remove as much water as possible, otherwise your tarts will be soggy. You will want to blot the tomatoes during baking, also: Work quickly as you remove the excess water with a triple-folded paper towel.)

In a large glass mixing bowl, combine the drained tomatoes with the lemon juice, shallots or green onions, garlic, parsley, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Gently stir in the olive oil.

Place your baking sheet to the oven for about five minutes to warm. Remove the hot sheet from the oven and place the cooled pastry shells on it. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the tomato mixture into each shell. Make sure not to overfill the pastry shells. Bake for about 15 minutes, blotting excess water at least once. Sprinkle with a splash of black pepper and let cool for about five minutes prior to serving.

Meanwhile, prepare the lime butter in a small saucepan: Mix the lime juice with an equal amount of water (no more than ⅓ cup). Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, and boil for about 3 minutes or until it's reduced by half. Whisk in the butter, a continued in part 2

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