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Confit cherry tomato and pesto tart

Preparation time
30 mins to 1 hour

Cooking time
over 2 hours

Serves
Serves 4

By Richard Bainbridge
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the confit of cherry tomatoes

  • 20 cherry tomatoes, halved through the equator
  • 4 sprigs thyme, leaves only
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 10g/⅓ oz caster sugar
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the savoury pastry

  • 250g/9 oz plain flour
  • 150g/5½ oz salted butter
  • 1 free-range egg
  • pinch salt
  • pinch caster sugar
  • 15g/½ oz full-fat milk

For the sun-dried tomato pesto

  • 125g/4½ oz sun-dried tomatoes
  • 2–4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
  • 70g/2½ oz sunflower seeds
  • 100ml/3½ fl oz balsamic vinegar
  • 50g/1¾ oz parmesan, grated
  • 50g/1¾ oz tomato purée
  • 120ml/4 fl oz olive oil

For the courgette puree

To serve

  • 1 courgette, chopped
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp basil leaves
  • 1 courgette, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to its lowest setting.

  2. Place the tomatoes on a baking tray cut side up. Sprinkle with thyme leaves, dot with the olive oil, and season with caster sugar, salt, and pepper. Place in the preheated oven for 2½ –3 hrs, the cherry tomatoes are done when their skin becomes crinkly but not browned.

  3. Meanwhile, to make the savoury pastry. Place the flour and butter in a large bowl and rub together with your fingertips until you have a breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg, salt, sugar and a splash of the milk. Mix together until you have a smooth dough, adding more milk if needed. Try not to overwork the pastry as it will become too short. Once combined wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes before using.

  4. To make the sun-dried tomato pesto, place all the ingredients and a splash of the olive oil, in a food processor and blend to combine. Set the food processor to slow, and drizzle in the remaining olive oil until you achieve a stiff but spreadable consistency.

  5. To make the pastry cases, lightly dust a work surface with flour, roll the pastry out into a disc that is 2–3mm thick and line 4 x 10cm/4in loose-bottomed tart tins.. Trim any excess pastry from the edges, prick the base with a fork, and chill for 1 hour in the freezer.

  6. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Roughly line the pastry case with kitchen foil or baking paper, fill with baking beans or rice and bake on a baking tray for 15-25 minutes, or until the edges are just golden. Remove the foil or paper and beans and bake for a further 5 minutes to dry out the base.

  7. To make the courgette puree, place the courgettes into boiling salted water and blanch them for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and refresh in cold water. Transfer them to a blender along with the oil and basil and blend until you have a smooth puree.

  8. To serve, once the pastry is cool, add a generous spoonful of tomato pesto to the base of each tart case, cover with the thinly sliced courgettes, and top with the confit tomato halves. Warm in the oven for 2–5 minutes before serving. Finish with fresh mint leaves and a side of courgette puree.

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