Tomato and Smoked Mozzarella Tart

Why This Recipe Works

Falling somewhere in between pizza and quiche, tomato and mozzarella tart shares the flavors of both but features unique problems. For starters, this is not fast food, as some sort of pastry crust is required. Second, the moisture in the tomatoes almost guarantees a soggy crust. Third, tomato tarts are often tasteless, despite their good looks, falling short on flavor. We wanted a recipe that could easily be made at home with a solid bottom crust and great vine-ripened flavor.

Frozen puff pastry was the solution to an easy crust, and prebaking it was a start—but only a start—to solving the problem of sogginess. Sealing the puff pastry shell with an egg wash helped. Yet even with these preventive measures, the tomato juice still found its way into the crust. To extract more moisture from the tomatoes before baking the tart, we sliced and salted them, then pressed them lightly between paper towels. This removed much of the moisture. But even with a layer of grated mozzarella cheese between tomatoes and crust, the tart shell still came out a bit soggy. Our breakthrough came when we added a layer of grated Parmesan cheese, which sealed the crust fully and repelled moisture. After a short stay in the oven, our tart had a crisp and sturdy crust, nutty flavor from the Parmesan, and rich flavors from the cheese and tomatoes.