This Polenta Crust Tomato Tart is a tart with a cornmeal crust that is filled with a creamy filling and topped with roasted tomatoes.
It’s no secret that I’m a cookbook lover. And while I buy them to cook from, of course, I sometimes buy them just to look through them. To drool over the beautiful photographs. And there is one cookbook author whose books are at the top of the list of the most beautiful cookbooks – Donna Hay.
Donna Hay is an Australian food editor and cookbook author. She has a very recognizable signature style – very clean and simple. And stunning. I seriously cannot look through one of her cookbooks without getting hungry. They are seriously coffee table worthy.
So when I was offered a copy of her newest cookbook – Fresh and Light – to review, I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance!
Fresh and Light is filled with over 180 recipes that are all about balance. I love what she says in the opening of the book – “So this is not a diet book. For me, it’s always been about balance, and Fresh and Light is my answer to my own best efforts at juggling for that perfect balance.” This is exactly my philosophy, so I was so excited to jump into this book.
I didn’t have any problem choosing plenty of recipes from this book that I want to make. But I’m not going to lie – many of these recipes would take some convincing for my family to try. Things like Spicy Chicken Larb with Pickled Cucumber or Preserved Lemon Chicken with Kale. But that being said, I would love to cook more recipes like these so that my family will be drawn to them!!
Another note to mention – it would be smart to have a kitchen scale to cook from this book. Some of the ingredients are listed in only weight measurements, and if you don’t have a scale, you might spend a lot of time online doing conversions. But really – you should have a kitchen scale anyway!!
When I was looking through this book for the first time, I saw the photo of this tart and knew immediately that this would be one of the recipes I would try. No question about it. And I’m so glad I tried it. This recipe definitely doesn’t taste “diet” or “light”. The buttery crust with the creamy filling – I could have actually been fooled into thinking this was something that was bad for me. The recipe calls for a 24cm tart pan, and all I have is an 11-inch pan, but I actually think the pan fit perfectly. There are only 2 changes I would make next time. First, I wish I would have roasted my tomatoes longer. Tomatoes aren’t exactly in season here, so I think a few more minutes of roasting would have made them even better. And I would have added more salt. I sprinkled salt over the top of my piece and it was perfect, so I’d probably just salt the tomatoes as they roast.
But that being said – this tart was amazing. I loved it when it was warm, but I had a slice for lunch the next day, just cold, straight from the refrigerator, and I was blown away at how much I liked it. I would easily make this again – especially when the tomatoes are coming off the vine this summer!
Polenta Crust Tomato Tart
Ingredients
- 4 Roma tomatoes halved
- 8 sprigs of thyme
- cracked black pepper
- 1/2 cup 75g all-purpose flour
- 1 cup 170g instant polenta or cornmeal
- 120 g butter about 8 1/2 tablespoons
- 1/3 cup water
- salt
- 300 g reduced-fat cream cheese
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup chopped basil leaves
- 1/3 cup 25g finely grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the tomatoes on it, cut side up. Top each with a sprig of thyme and season with pepper. Roast until soft, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Reduce the oven heat to 350F. Combine the flour, cornmeal, butter, water and salt in a food processor. Process until a dough forms. Press the dough into an 11-inch tart pan. Place a piece of parchment paper over the crust and fill with baking weights or dry beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the weights and parchment paper, and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until crisp.
- Place the cream cheese and eggs in a food processor and process until smooth. Stir in the basil and parmesan. Pour the mixture into the pastry shell and top with the roasted tomatoes. Bake until set, about 25 minutes.
Rainey says
I thought this looked promising but the crust was a total fail. It had zero structure and became the equivalent of a crumbly streusel at the bottom of the tart.
Chelsea says
This tart is the best thing that could have happened to my garden tomatoes! It is just perfect, though I did use both salt and pepper on my roasted tomatoes (I used my Paul Robeson tomatoes). I was nervous to not add salt to the cream cheese mixture, but there is so much flavor from the Parmesan and herbs that it seriously does NOT need it! I enjoyed this warm from the oven and also cold. The crust is quite crunchy which my husband loved. One of the best things I’ve made in a while – thank you!
Sammie says
I love the look of this roasted tomato tart and am intrigued to try a polenta crust – this is my kinda food. Totally delicious looking. The cookbook looks fab too, I too am cookbook obsessed reading, cooking, getting inspiration. Seriously I need to build a barn at the bottom of our garden so I can have a library like Ina Garten!! Love your site. Sammie
Ami@NaiveCookCooks says
Love the idea of polenta crust!!
Chels R. says
The cover of her book is really gorgeous. And the recipes you’ve highlighted from her cookbook look amazing. Especially that tart!
Joanne says
I’ve really been wanting to get my hands on this cookbook! I am so glad you ended up going with the tomato tart recipe for this review post…that creamy filling with the tart sweet tomatoes on top sounds so perfect for warm weather!
maria s says
the polenta crust sounds lovely!
Jeaniez1028 says
What a glorious post! Donna Hay is one of my all time favorites; I own many of her cookbooks. My favorite is “Flavours” – it is so beautifully photographed and organized and tasty! I am also a big fan of her magazine. Going to go and buy this new cookbook today…Happy Mothers Day to me!
Jennifer @ Mother Thyme says
I couldn’t wait to see this recipe since I saw this on Instagram. This looks fabulous and I love this cookbook too. Definitely need to add this one to my cookbook collection!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I love tomato tarts, the polenta crust sounds great!
bev @ bevcooks says
Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!
Laura @ Raise Your Garden says
Roma tomatoes are my favorite of all time!
I love this tart. Love the tomatoes on top with the thyme. Thyme is soooo good.
And the basil tomato combo just makes me happy on the inside =) Must try this asap.
Belinda@themoonblushbaker says
Donna Hay has to be one of Australia’s best culinary exports. She is simply the bomb when it comes to cooking fresh meals that are effortless.
Love the tart recipe. Must try!