Ode to the Tomato part 2

When it comes to these delectable spheres, I'm a purist. I do mostly salads with herbs (basil/oregano) or cheese (goat/mozzarella) or other veggies (fennel/cucumber/olives) or just throw together a huge bowl of gazpacho (see recipe below). This time, however, we had some unexpected guests stop by and I wanted to show off at least a little bit. Enter the Tomato Tart.

Now, I'm pretty new at this blog thing and so some of you might not know what my biggest culinary fear is. Well, it's flour. I have a fear of flour or really, anything that has to do with baking. I suck at it. Really, truthfully, suck. Thank god for puff pastry. Two sheets of frozen dough that, once thawed and cooked, makes you look like Julia Child.

This stuff was as hard as a rock when it came out of the freezer, but a quick zap of the microwave allowed me to unfold and roll out the dough pretty easily. The key to this tart thing is to make sure that the tomatoes don't make the dough too mushy, so they suggest making a barrier under the tomato. I decided on mustard, as I didn't have the sour cream that the recipe suggested. On top of the mustard, I layered the tomatoes and put the whole thing in the oven. 45 minutes later, we had a piping hot masterpiece.

Did I mention, Thank God for Puff Pastry!!

Chunky Gazpacho

Ingredients

• 4 cups coarsely chopped tomato (about 2 pounds)
• 16oz tomato juice
• 1 cup coarsely chopped peeled cucumber (about 1 large)
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups finely chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Cover and chill.

(4 servings - 95 calories per serving)