Nothing beats the taste of freshly picked, right off the vine garden tomatoes, the flavor, the texture, everything is so different, I’m sure going to miss them when there gone, but for now I’m going to enjoy them any which way I can!

Almost every meal I make, including breakfast, you’ll see a side of sliced tomatoes drizzled with good olive oil and sea salt sitting on my table, it’s a staple here in the summer.

 But after hauling in these beauties the other day I decided I’d make a tomato tart for dinner!

 I also remembered I had a big bag of leftover cooked brown rice sitting in my fridge, and since I hate to waste anything I thought, why not change it up a bit and make the rice be the crust for the tart instead of pastry dough.  I’m excited to say we loved it, it was so good!

 I used a deeper, fluted tart pan but you could also use a deep dish pie pan, I say deep because you want plenty of room for your  rice crust, filling and topping of tomatoes.  Notice the crust edge, it came out perfectly from the pan, it had a nice crunch and chewy texture to it.

 It went ridiculously good with the savory, cheesy ricotta filling!

 And oh, those tomatoes, what can I say? They were bursting with flavor and took the whole tart over the top!

 Would you like me to cut you a wedge?

Tomato Tart with Brown Rice Crust

 

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Ingredients

• 9 inch deep fluted tart pan with removable bottom or a deep dish pie pan
• FOR CRUST
• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 eggs
• 1 small onion diced and 1 garlic clove, sauteed
• ⅓ cup of grated romano cheese
• ¼ cup of loosely packed and shredded fontina or any other melting cheese
• basil and parsley, fresh chopped, 2 tablespoons each
• FILLING
• 3 cups ricotta cheese, drained
• 2 eggs
• 1 clove garlic, grated on a microplane
• ⅓ cup of grated romano cheese
• ½ cup of shredded fontina or any other melting cheese
• basil and parsley, fresh chopped, 2 tablespoons each
• TOPPING
• vine ripened tomatoes, any kind, either quartered or cut in half depending on size, enough to cover the top of tart

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine the rice, beaten eggs, sauteed garlic and onion, cheeses and herbs, mix well.
2. Pat rice mixture into an olive oil sprayed tart or pie pan.
3. Place filled tart pan on a baking sheet then into a 350 degree F. oven for 15 minutes.
4. Remove rice crust and let it cool down.
5. Turn up oven temp to 400 degrees.F.
6. Mix ricotta, cheeses, herbs, eggs and garlic for the filling then spread evenly onto the cooled rice crust.
7. Place your tomatoes all over,slightly sinking them into the ricotta mixture.
8. Drizzle olive oil on top of the tomatoes and tart then bake for 30 minutes or until ricotta is set.
9. To finish it, I like to place mine under the broiler to get it a nice golden color on top, but if you do that, keep checking and don't walk away from the stove!
10. Let it cool a little before slicing.
11. Garnish with chopped fresh basil.

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