Saturday, April 5, 2008

Phylo Tomato Tart

This post is very long overdue. Because of my baking frenzy, this post was delayed, but I'm excited to finally share it with you. the Noble pig suggested this recipe for easter, and it looked so yummy, I knew that I would make it. I have never worked with phylo dough before, and when I went to the grocery store to get it, the idiots that worked there were no help. I asked the manager where I could find the phylo dough. He was like "The what?" I told him that It was like a pastry dough in thin layers. He was completely befuddled. I was like well, where do you keep the pastry stuff. Then he told me that he wasn't sure. Then I asked him where the sushi rice is. Again, he didn't know. How is he manager and not know where anything is!? Well evidently, I found the dough after inspecting every freezer shelf in the whole darn store. Gee thanks price chopper. But I must say that it was totally worth it. I made it on easter day, with the help of my beloved easter gift. A baking mat! Yay! Now my mom won't yell at me for using so much parchment paper! The phylo dough was like nothing I have ever worked with before. It was thin like tissue paper. I used a mandolin to cut my onions and tomatoes thinly and precise.










You have to brush each layer of phylo with butter, and sprinkle it with cheese. Then you layer the top with cheese, tomatoes, onions and a sprinkle of thyme.After you bake it, the phylo gets crispy and golden brown. I don't know what it is, but this tart tastes so amazing. Its crazy that simple ingredients yield such a stunning result! It was so good, that after the first one came out of the oven, I made another one. Tee hee hee.
Everybody loved it, and it was gone after like 5 min. I still have a lot of phylo left, so I'm going to make this again, and again. : D

Filo Tomato Tart
The Noble Pig
adapted from Sunset Magazine

**Cut tomatoes very thin so juice evaporates while baking, or dough will be soggy.**(use a mandolin)

7 sheets filo dough, thawed
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
7 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup very thinly sliced red onion
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
8 Roma tomatoes, cut into 1/8-in.-thick slices
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray paper with cooking-oil spray. Lay 1 sheet filo on paper and brush lightly with a little melted butter. Sprinkle all over with 1 tablespoon of Parmesan. Repeat layering 5 more times (with filo, butter and Parmesan), pressing each sheet firmly so it sticks to sheet below. Lay the last filo sheet on top, brush with remaining melted butter, and sprinkle on remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan.

Scatter onion across filo, top with mozzarella, and arrange tomato slices in a single layer, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle with thyme and salt and pepper to taste.

Bake until filo is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes, then serve.

28 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

You're one step up on me with your Silpat baking mat Jessy. I guess I will continue to use parchment paper..sigh:D The tomato and filo tart looks incredible as well. I make something similar but with goats cheese:D

Peter M said...

It looks like you handled the phyllo very well and if it didn't last five minutes....well, it was damn good!

test it comm said...

That looks really good. The crust looks nice and light and flaky and the roasted tomatoes covered in golden brown cheese...mmm... Bookmarked.

RecipeGirl said...

I have a silpat, but not a mandoline. I keep looking at them and just haven't pounced.

Isn't it funny how managers know absolutely nothing. A while back I called our store to see if they carried cherry juice. The manager said, "No." Well guess what? I went to the store and I found cherry juice! You can bet that the manager heard from me!!

This tomato tart looks really good. Can't wait until summer tomatoes are at their best. This would be a good one to try.

Elle said...

Oh, that looks delicious! What a great combination of flavors!

Mary Coleman said...

Beautiful, Jessy! I have phyllo in the freezer. You've inspired me.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you made this. I would have to agree that the flavors were pretty great! I think the simplest of ingredients do make the best foods.

MissGinsu said...

Love the simplicity!

And good on yeh for insisting that your supermarket should offer something resembling customer service. That's shocking that not even the manager could figure out what you were talking about...

Anonymous said...

This looks really good! I've used phyllo dough in a couple other recipes and I love the crunch of the separate layers.

Anonymous said...

Filo is great isn't it? This looks delicious and you could do so many vriations!

PG said...

Sounds like a successful dish!

I always have a hard time with the employees at my local grocery store. I usually have to go through about 5-6 employees to find the one that can actually answer my question.

The Peanut Butter Boy said...

I've never worked with phyllo dough either. I've seen pictures of it being used, like yours, and thought it must be a paper lining instead and the person is mislabeling it. I guess the point is to use many layers so that you get a flaky layered crust. Sounds great for making delicate pastries and pies.

I remember seeing an episode of "How It's Made" where they made phyllo dough. It was a ridiculous process that took two men to stretch it out over a huuuuge table until it was thin enough. It looked like they were making a giant bed. Looks tasty though!

- The Peanut Butter Boy

Anonymous said...

I had the same problem trying to find phyllo dough in my local grocery store, too! Had to find it myself just as you did. What's up with that, anyway?

Well, your dish looks absolutely amazing.

DoughGirl said...

Mmm...that looks absolutely delicious!

Hello, I'm Sally. said...

That looks so delicious!

Anonymous said...

Good job the this amazing phyllo dough dish! I've not had much luck with phyllo dough, so seeing this is inspiring!

daphne said...

I can't wait to own my own silpat. That looks healthy and delicious.

mimi said...

looks delish jessy! i've actually never worked with phyllo dough either, but this is definitely a keeper recipe to try out for when summer's tomatoes come 'round the market.

Nina Timm said...

Well done, I love working with phyllo, because it is so easy and the result is fantastic.

Emily said...

Where did you end up finding the phyllo at? What was it next to? Ours is next to the frozen fruit and frozen pies and cakes.
This looks delicious! It looks like pizza!

Anonymous said...

I didn't know unbaked phyllo look like this! This looks simple yet delicious.

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

Emiline- I found it like next to the frozen pizzas, and pies.

Michelle Ann said...

You amaze me. This looks awesome! :)

Chocolate and Steel said...

yum!!! Your pictures are really great also.

Anonymous said...

Very nice! My grocery store is a lot like that, too. Nobody knows where anything is.

I use phyllo dough for baklava and things like that, and while it's not my favorite thing to work with (I always end up tearing it), I'm bookmarking that tart. It looks great!

Anonymous said...

This tart looks delicious. Have some filo in my freezer, will be my first time using it.

Lori Lynn said...

That is one gorgeous tart!

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

Ok, Jessy, this really looks amazing! So light, crispy, tomatoey... fresh fresh fresh!