Tender Tomato Tartlets

Featuring a lighter, yeasted crust that gives a break to the buttery kind (not that butter needs a break)

Over the past week I’ve been in Nevada spending very valuable time with family and a few family friends who go way back. I hadn’t seen these friends in about 18 years and I still can’t believe how time passes — but also doesn’t, because somehow it’s possible to pick up right where things left off so long ago. It turned out to be a very food-nostalgic couple of days, and in my next newsletter I’ll be sharing a bit more, as well as a special breakfast dish that looms large in my family.

But for today, I wanted to capitalize on tomato season while it’s here, with a tomato tart that uses a slightly different type of tart shell. It’s not the usual buttery, short-crust type. This is a yeasted tart shell, a version of which I shared in Snacks for Dinner and that I first learned to make from one of my favorite food writers, Martha Rose Shulman.

It’s not a flaky, crumbly, cut-in-the-butter kind of crust. Instead it’s fragrant with olive oil, requires momentary kneading, and is a bit more bready — I’d say pizza-crust adjacent. And in fact as I’ve been making these tartlets all week they reminded me of Georgian khatchapuri, or even a teeny bit of the crust for an empanada.

This dough is incredibly easy to work with and roll out, with less stress around getting the hydration right and cracking. It’s a handy recipe to keep around since it’s versatile enough for lining tart pans (so long as you roll it as thinly as possible) or folding over fillings like hand pies. And since it can also hold its shape to a degree, free-form versions like galettes also work terrifically.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with a decadently flaky and rich shortcrust (like the one used in this fruit galette), but I love today’s option as a lighter alternative that gives more latitude to the cheesy fillings.

To make this tartlet a proper meal, I’ve cracked an egg over the filling (an idea that came to me just as the likeness to khatchapuri did), which on top of a cheesy base and a few thick slices of ripe, savory tomato, simply amps up the richness and decadence of these little treats. I have a number of notes below to help with troubleshooting, but I encourage you to play around with the fillings, thinking of this as a savory pie that can go in any direction you please.

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Do you like my recipe videos?

A quick question for you before we get to the recipe: Do you like the recipe videos I include with these recipes, and/or find them valuable? I have to admit that as a one-man-show (thank you, Vincent, for helping with this week’s video!), they’re a lot of extra work, especially because I don’t have an ideal kitchen studio setup, I’m often trying to squeeze them in during the fleeting moments when my kitchen has decent lighting, and they limit my ability to send out new recipes as soon as they’re ready. But I also feel that a video can capture details that are difficult to convey in writing, and it really brings things to life. I’d love to hear what you think — if you watch them, like them, need them, and/or have better ideas for me.

Recipe Video