Recipe - Breakfast Cheese Tart

Pastry for 9 inch pie; Use
Basic Pie Crust
(Pate Brisee) that I gave
last time)
8 ounce Swiss or Jarlsberg cheese;
cut into One half inch chunks
1 pound Ricotta cheese; or 15
oz.cont
3 Eggs
1 md Onion; chopped fine
2 Cloves garlic; pressed
One half teaspoon White pepper
2 md Sized ripe tomatoes; peeled
and thinly cut or sliced up
1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Fresh snipped chives
1 tablespoon Chopped parsley
1 teaspoon Chopped fresh thyme;
(optional)
1 teaspoon Chopped fresh basil;
(optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Use a 9 inch by 1 inch tart pan with removable
bottom. Spray well with cooking spray or grease generously. Press pastry to
fit into pan. Trim smoothly about 1 inch beyond edge of pan, then fold back
over edge and crimp to make attractive and sturdy fluted edge. Line pan
with aluminum foil that you have sprayed with cooking spray on both sides,
then place an 8 or 9 inch glass pie pan inside foil. (Pie pan should reach
bottom of tart pan, and extend above fluted edge of pastry.) Turn assembly
upside down on cookie sheet, and bake for 9 minutes. Remove pan from oven,
turn over and remove pie plate and foil. (If you prefer, you can use pie
weights, beans or rice and bake right side up.) Return to oven and bake 5
minutes longer. Remove from oven and set aside. Lower oven temperature to
350 degrees. In blender or work bowl of food processor, combine Jarlsberg,
ricotta, eggs, onion, garlic and pepper. Whirl until smooth and well
blended. Pour evenly into baked shell,. Place pan on cookie sheet. Bake for
25 to 30 minutes until filling is partially set. Meanwhile, drain tomato
slices on paper towels. Remove tart from oven. Arrange tomato slices on top
around the edge. Return to oven and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until knife
inserted in center comes out clean. Brush tomatoes with olive oil, sprinkle
with fresh herbs. Let stand 20 minutes. Remove tart pan sides by pressing
upward on removable bottom. Place on round platter, garnish with fresh
herbs, and serve.. . Variation: Use thinly cut or sliced up green or red bell peppers
instead of tomatoes. Sprinkle with chopped dry sun dried tomatoes (not the
kind packed in oil), chives and parsley. MC formatting by
bobbi744@sojourn.com

NOTES : The next dish is of French lineage with a California twist. I
decided that there were plenty of recipes for Quiche Lorraine out there ,
in almost any general cookbook you might own, so I decided not to do a
basic quiche. Instead, this breakfast tart, with its quichelike filling,
came to mind as an interesting variation. I usually use a pate brisee made
with half shortening and half butter, or with all butter flavored Crisco
when I make this dish, The butter gives great flavor; the Crisco makes it
flakier. In general, for the flakiest crust, use lard. Next flakiest is
Crisco, the most flavorful is butter. I see no reason to use margarine for
a pastry shell, and have never seen a satisfactory crust made with oil (No
flakiness at all!) I got this recipe in California, so it always makes me
think of perfect weather! This makes a nice looking dish for a brunch on
New Year's day, or any time you have house guests in the summer. Although
it is better warm, the late riser can eat the
Recipe by: Rosilyn

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #809 by Roberta Banghart
bobbi744@sojourn.com on Sep 26, 1997