Tomato & Goat Cheese Tart + Tomato Toasts with Cheddar Mayo
Both adapted from recipes I love, using summer’s most beloved crop
The weekend was approaching, and tomatoes were covering absolutely every surface of our kitchen.
A few days earlier we’d had a photo shoot at the house, and as a known produce over-purchaser (and decidedly NOT in recovery for this condition), the evidence was everywhere. I had scoured the city for the prettiest specimens, from the reddest Maggies (a variety developed here to be extra sweet, red, and juicy) to Bull’s Heart heirlooms, Tamars (our version of Roma tomatoes) and multicolored cherry tomatoes (called “Sherry” here) in every shade of the rainbow.
And then, after all was said and done (and photographed), I still had enough left over to make multiple meals.
So what to cook? I made a smooth gazpacho in the Vitamix with red tomatoes, peeled cucumbers, Sherry vinegar, stale pita, garlic, salt, and really good olive oil. I made tomato-cheddar toasts with cheddar I brought back from Neal’s Yard in London mixed with mayo and gochugaru (my tweak), adapted from a NYT Cooking recipe by Ali Slagle (here’s my spin on the recipe!).
CHEDDAR MAYO TOASTS
Adapted from NYT Cooking
Serves 6
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
2 or 3 large ripe medium tomatoes, sliced (halved if very large)
½ cup mayonnaise
½ packed cup (2 ounces) finely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (grated on a Microplane)
½ teaspoon gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) or other chili flakes
Good sourdough bread, cut into six ½-inch thick slices
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine the mayonnaise, cheddar and gochugaru in a bowl. Toast the bread. While still hot, spread with the mayo mixture. Broil for a minute if desired. Top with the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Eat ASAP.
And still! So. Much. Remained.
I turned to a favorite source–author and Parisian-by-choice David Lebovitz–for ideas. David is an iconic pastry chef, food writer, cookbook author, and all-around bon vivant whose Paris recommendations (or any recommendations) are the best you’ll ever get.
His writing is witty, his recipes original and reliable, his sense of humor contagious.
I stumbled upon this goat cheese and tomato tart recipe on his blog, which fit my bill for several reasons:
