#vine tomatoes

Vine tomatoes  - Tom Carment , 2016.

Australian , b. 1954 -

Everything I cook or bake, every recipe I make lately, is “garden this” or “garden that”... I know! I must say I’m rather proud of my kitchen garden this year, it has greatly improved from last year -lockdown has its perks- and I have grown more herbs and vegetables than ever! (Our fruit trees are all bountiful, too.) I have yet to harvest beetroots and potatoes, but we’ve had a steady harvest of cherry tomatoes, lettuce and even a few peas this Summer. I hope the ever growing squash are going to give us butternut this Autumn, and we might have salsify and fennel, too. All that with a good variety of herbs, from chervil to sage. So yes, I am quite proud and I love cooking with vegetables I’ve just picked in the garden. But if you don’t grow your own, you can still make this delicious Garden Tomato and Smoked Scamorza Tart!

Ingredients (serves 4):

375 grams/13 ounces Rosemary Pastry

4 large leaves fresh sage

half a dozen leaves fresh basil

1 tablespoon olive oil

60 grams/2 ounces smoked Scamorza

4 just ripe tomatoes, rinsed

a pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper

fresh rosemary, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 200°C/395°F. Butter a 28cm/11″ tart tin.

Roll Rosemary Pastry out onto a lightly floured surface. Fit Rosemary Pastry into prepared tin. Prick the base and edges, and place in the hot oven. Blind bake, at 200°C/395°F, 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely chop sage and basil, and place chopped herbs into a mortar. Grind with the pestle until you have a sort of paste, and stir in olive oil. Set aside. Cut smoked Scamorza, and tomatoes into thick enough slices. Set aside.

Once the Pastry case is a blond colour; remove from the oven and trim the edges. Arrange smoked Scamorza slices onto the base of the Pastry case. Brush generously with sage and basil oil. Arrange tomato slices on top and brush with remaining sage and basil oil. Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Place in the middle of the hot oven, and bake, at 200°C/395°F, for 25 minutes, until crust is golden brown.