golden bounty

Upon returning from our luxurious week in Turks & Caicos, I was welcomed home by a sweet golden bounty of yellow teardrop cherry tomatoes.

Pictured above is the garden bounty and a few souvenirs from the island, including a bottle of Jamaican rum our butler, Minto, gave to Connor on his 19th birthday (the legal drinking age on Turks is 18), so we’ll save it for a couple of years… when he turns 21…

I generally go out each morning and pick the ripe little gems, so I have never had the opportunity to see how many the one plant could produce in a week. Turns out the answer is about 1 pound! Just enough to make a wonderful tart. I sometimes like to use a 9-inch square tart pan in the place of a round, especially when using the tart as hor d’oeuvres or appetizer.  

The slices also act as a delicious and beautiful addition to a salad served with a mustard-shallot vinaigrette.

I ended up with a little extra dough, so I make a mini tart and baked it alongside the large one, it was browned and ready about 3 minutes sooner.

Cherry Tomato Onion Tart

Crust
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, straight from the refrigerator and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk
Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
1 pound cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped

Crust: Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a food processor.

Add the butter and Parmesan and pulse until well incorporated.

Add milk through the feed tube with the machine running just until the dough become to come together. Quickly turn off machine and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll the dough into a 13-inch square or circle to fit a 9-inch square or round tart pan.  Carefully fit pastry into pan. Cover the pastry-lined tart pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 50 minutes, while you make the filling.

Filling: In a medium skillet heat the olive oil and sauté the onions, sugar, and salt until very soft and golden, approximately 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Stir in the whole-grain mustard and spread out on a large plate to cool.

While the onions cook, pierce each cherry tomato with the point of a sharp knife on top and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Evenly sprinkle the 1/3 cup Parmesan over the crust. Spread the cooled onion filling over Parmesan and neatly arrange the tomatoes on top in a single layer.

Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper, and chopped oregano.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing into 9 squares from the square pan or 8 wedges from the round pan, this prevents the hot tomatoes from becoming mini cherry bombs in your guests’ mouths. Serve warm.

Serves 8 or 9

Our suite at Beaches Turks & Caicos – Sweet!