Book Reviews

Rustic Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tarts

Rustic Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tarts | MarlaMeridith.com

Recently I have been on a HUGE tart kick. Everything from sweet to savory to all in between. My tart obsession started when I received the stunning cookbook by Holly Herrick titled Tart Love. Guess what else is awesome about this book? It is photographed by the lovely and super talented Helene Dujardin aka: Tartelette. That’s all you need to know right?

I’ll hold on a moment while you add a few copies to your holiday shopping list and purchase a few for yourself. You need to have a copy this book. Really. Maybe two. One for your coffee table and one for your kitchen.

Rustic Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tarts | MarlaMeridith.com

Today I am gonna talk up tarts and my reveal for September’s Secret Recipe Club! This month I was secretly handed the blog Adventures in All Things Food. There are lots of fun recipes over there but I was immediately drawn to her Rustic Tomato Tart recipe. Here is what “Owen’s Mom” says about her blog “From my vegetable garden, through my kitchen, to our table, for this SAHM it is all an adventure!”

It took me a few seconds to figure out what SAHM meant. Here is what I figure: it must be stay at home mom. She is in love with this savory tart and I thought it would fit right in with our topic of Tart Love!

Rustic Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tarts | MarlaMeridith.com

Let’s divert back to Holly, her fabulous cookbook, pastry and Helene…..

These two gals are the super star team of this book, their chemistry shows itself on every page. They both live in Charleston, South Carolina. They both have amazing backgrounds in pastry. They both know how to combine flavors and textures perfectly. They both have lots of wit and southern charm (even though Helene is of course French!)

After receiving the cookbook I tweeted my excitement about it. The Twitter feed looked like this:

Tart Love cookbook by Holly Herrick, book review on MarlaMeridith.com

So of course I went all sassy on it.

Rustic Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tarts | MarlaMeridith.com

As always, I see great cookbooks as brilliant canvases for me to create my own goodies in the kitchen. In this book Holly de-mystifies the art of the sweet and savory pastry crust. Her writing is simple, to the point and well thought out. You will feel the need to make tarts every minute. These pastries exude elegance, but in reality they are very doable. Besides, I love the fact that you can make stunning designs on the top.

Just so you know this is not a gluten free book, but you can easily swap out the crust with your GF version if needed as I did here. I am sure the sweet and savory traditional pastry crusts in the book are epic. Really.

You can also use the freshest of ingredients…

Rustic Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tarts | MarlaMeridith.com

Tarts are perfect for all kinds of entertaining from showers to brunches, tea parties and more. Could you imagine bringing out a stunning Vanilla-Dipped Pear and Chocolate Tart (featured on the book cover) at your next family gathering? Please don’t wait until then. Make one for the weekend. You will be very glad you did……Holly also has recipes for pot pies, quiches and hand held pies in the book. *smitten*

Rustic Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tarts | MarlaMeridith.com

A few recipes in the book to swoon you: Hearty Chicken, Fennel and Fresh Corn Pot Pies, Creamy Blue Crab and Salmon Quiche, Sage Green Apple and Aged Cheddar Tart, Salad Nicoise Tart. Here’s a few sweets: Deep Purple Fresh Cherry Pie Pockets, Coco-nutty Sweet Potato Tart and Peanut Butter Fluff and Chocolate Tart. Enough said, right?!

My sassy version of the Tomato Tart a la Margherita in the book has a gluten free almond crust (a la Roost and Elana’s Pantry) and I lightened up the toppings just a smidge. I also added a few dollops of Burrata cheese. My new favorite.

Have you ever had creamy Burrata? It is a fresh Italian mozzarella cheese with heavy cream. By the way burrata means butter in Italian. You need to know that. The outside “shell” of this cheese is mozzarella and the inside is a mix of the two. Take a look…….

Rustic Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tarts | MarlaMeridith.com

What is your favorite tart recipe?

Do you like sweet, savory or sassy? I bet you like them all….I also bet you would love a copy of this book. Great news for you…..

Rustic Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tarts | MarlaMeridith.com

Graphic with pink fleur de lis for MarlaMeridith.comGiveaway Details

This giveaway is now over. Congrats to Marsha from redhotcookinmama. Enjoy your book!

Because I love you & I want to see you creating beautiful tarts, I have one Tart Love cookbook to giveaway to you. Cool huh!

How to Enter

Leave some comments….tell me what your favorite kind of tart is. You have until Wednesday, September 28th, 12 midnight PST to enter this giveaway. One winner will be chosen via random.org and will have 3 days to respond or a new winner will be selected. Open to residents of the USA.

To earn additional entries, leave a separate comment for each of the steps listed below. If you don’t leave separate comments for each step, we will not be able to include them.

  1. Tell me about your favorite tart recipe or about the best one you have ever had.
  2. Add the MarlaMeridith.com badge into your sidebar or somewhere on your blog
  3. Tweet this giveaway, being sure to include my Twitter handle (@MarlaMeridith). Here’s a sample tweet you could use or make up your own: {giveaway} Love Tarts? So do we! @MarlaMeridith has a “Tart Love” cookbook  by @HollyHerrick photos by @SweetTartelette http://su.pr/2rtACr
  4. Follow @MarlaMeridith on Twitter
  5. Follow @HollyHerrick on Twitter
  6. Follow @SweetTartelette on Twitter
  7. Sign up for my Email or RSS feeds
  8. Stumble this post & follow me @familyfresh on StumbleUpon
  9. Add a link to this post on your blog.
  10. Join us for Project Lunch Box add our badge to your blog
  11. Follow @MarlaMeridith on Instagram
  12. Follow Marla Meridith on Pinterest

*Be sure to stay in touch with MarlaMeridith.com on Facebook too.

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Tart Recipe Links

 Take a peek at more Secret Recipe Club blog posts from Group C

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~ Marla Meridith

Join the Conversation

222 thoughts on “Rustic Tomato and Cheese Margherita Tarts

  1. Wow… you make me want to march downstairs and make me a tart! But alas, I have to go to work in 20 minutes. You know, when you asked what our favorite tart recipe was, I reached back in memory and realized I haven’t had one since I went gluten-free. Before I was gluten-free I LOVED minced meat (dessert) tarts. Oh, and my grandma’s butter tarts. Gosh, those things are delicious.

    1. Leanne, now you can eat tarts again…with this GF crust you will not miss the gluten at all. Just swap out the olive oil for a more neutral grape seed or canola oil. Your results should be spectacular!

  2. I am just wondering how you do it. Not only do you cook and have a blog but you find time to style your pics and the food (which is no easy task)! Your photos are just amazing and leave me drooling at my computer screen day in and day out! Love these little pizzas- so cute and perfect for kids and adults!

    1. @Kitchen Belleicious Thanks so much for your sweet words. Time management is very tricky especially now that the kids are back to school. I do what I can when I can. These days photo shoots are happening on weekend afternoons. Lots of editing and blogging during the week. Getting busier by the day. Thankfully I don’t like to stop moving! xo

  3. This is my first visit to your gorgeous blog. Your photos are beautiful and inspiring.

    I’m not a huge fan of tomatoes but love the cherry and grape varieties and all of their beautiful colors and shapes. This tart is the perfect use for them! I love tarts, both sweet and savory.

    1. So glad you stopped by Candy and thanks for your sweet compliments. A lot of folks who don’t like larger tomatoes often go for the grape and cherry ones. These taste especially good when heated in the oven…..on tarts!

  4. Marla, beautiful pictures!!!! I made a mozzarella tomato tart last year around this time, and it might be one of my faves. Kinda similar to this tart. Im kind of loving savory tarts!

  5. the best tart that I made this year was a Chili Rellano Tart for cinco de mayo. it was so decadent and so cheesy that it won the hearts of both the young and the not so young. this book looks fab and with Helene’s eye – it is bound to be a sure fire winner.

    1. Susan, that sounds amazing. My hubs is after me to cook with Chile Rellano’s. A tart sounds like a fun way to use them. I bet all ages loved the ones you made for cinch de mayo.

  6. For savory, a tomato and goat cheese tart with an herbed crust. For dessert, I love caramelized apple tartlets á la mode.

  7. I was excited to see you choose the rustic tomato tart for your SRC post. The tart for your book review is very different from the recipe I originally posted, so I will have to try this one soon. I am still drowning in tomatoes from my garden. Lol. Glad you share a love of tarts. They seem to be an often overlooked treat.

    Yes, SAHM is Stay-at-home-mom.

  8. I don’t believe I have ever had a savory tart – but I always vote savory over sweet and so I would have to guess savory would be more up my ally! I do love tart’s though (even sweet) because of the great crust you get with them! Always crunchy and good. Your SRC post blows everything else out of the water! lol, I need to up my game next month 😉

  9. Hi Marla,

    I just woke up- soo hungry and these look so yummy, it is not fair. Although just now I’d prefer a savory one normally I like sweet ones. Apple or chocolate tarts are my favorite.

    1. Jennifer, go ahead and try that almond meal from TJ’s. Not sure if the result will really be any different. I think the only difference with blanched almond “flour” and TJ’s almond meal is yours might have the skins ground into it. Almond flour is essentially fine almond meal, with blanched skinless almonds. I hope that makes sense 😉 Let me know how it turns out.

  10. This is perfect timing! I’ve been wanting to bake more savory tarts for dinner, now that the weather is cooling down, it’s a perfect excuse to turn on the stove 🙂 My favorite tart is anything with mushrooms, leeks, and cheese. If it has swiss chard in it, even better!

  11. One of the best tarts I ever had was when I was in high school and my family went out to dinner to celebrate a birthday. All I remember is ordering the seafood tart. When it came out, the filling was almost like cheese cake, the crust was tender yet puffy, and the seafood was fresh and delicious. And everything melded perfectly!!

    1. Cellabella, that sounds like one of the best things I have ever heard of. A seafood tart…must find me one of those, not to mention at a birthday party makes it even more fun!

  12. Last friday I had cherry tomato tart for dinner after tennis/TECHmunch at Chic on Pico – part of their tastes of the Riviera series and it was hands down the most delicious tart I’ve had – savory – simple – just the tiny tomatoes in a perfect crust with herbs… still dreaming about it.

    1. Lucy, I bet that savory tart after tennis was perfect! It was a busy day at TECHmunch & then you followed it with sport….love all your energy girl! It was wonderful to see you in Santa Monica & extra special to take our beachy walk.

  13. A savory tart…..would love to experiment with some of these. My mind always goes to “sweet” when I think about baking. Hhhhhmmmmmm!!

  14. Guess who was your secret blogger on SRC? I had a great time cooking your recipe…although my photographer falls short compared to yours….so I went crazy and retweeted, and stumbled upon and added all three of you fabulous ladies to twitter…

    I’m a tart lover, but I sway heavy to the savory side. A tart made with burrata, totally sinful!

    1. Rhonda….I am smitten by the post you guys created. I am so glad you guys love my Chinese 5 Spice Chili recipe. I can see why they might call it a stew. I think you photographed it beautifully. Makes me want to whip up a big batch of that chili right now. I love how involved your son is with the cooking 🙂

  15. Ooooh, I adore burrata cheese too! Amazingly tasty! 🙂
    My favorite kind of tart is really hard to choose…but I’m going to have to go with Dorie Greenspan’s soft chocolate-raspberry tart. It’s just SO good! 🙂

  16. That tomato tart looks gorgeous — my favorite is one made with thick slices of heirloom tomatoes, basil and goat cheese. It’s so simple — using a prebaked crust, either regular or GF, you just layer the tomato slices with slices of your favorite goat cheese, drizzle on some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with chopped fresh basil, kosher salt and fresh pepper. Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes. If your tomatoes are too wet, salt them lightly and let them sit in a colander for 10 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.

  17. I’ll be totally honest and say I haven’t had much experience with tarts. They kind of intimidate me. Not sure why. I make pie with no problems. I must say the savory tarts probably intrigue me the most, though. And those pics are gorgeous! I want to reach into my monitor and have a piece of that tart!

  18. I LOVE to cook and I have never made a tart before, but this recipie looks DELICIOUS! The best tart I have ever had was a tomato and avacado tart. It was SO GOOD! 😀

  19. I would love to tell you about my favorite tart, but I have never made one. I certainly need the Tart book so I can start making them. I was excited to read about your almond crust. My husband has to eat GF, so this would be perfect for him.

  20. Gorgeous pictures as usual :)! I’ve never tried to make tarts with almond flour before, but I’m trying to cut down on carbs, so it’s the right time to try it out. Thanks for sharing!

  21. This tart looks amazing.
    My favorite tart of all times is Ina Garten’s Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart. It is such a wonderful fall treat, and my family looks forward to it every holiday!

  22. Gorgeous rustic tart, Maria. And another giveaway only open to US residents? Have no fear. I’m here for the pretty pictures and killer recipes. The book? I’ll surely pick it up on my own because I love tarts. Brilliant, M!

  23. Thanks for stopping by The World in My Kitchen! I love all sorts of tarts (and learned how to make them while I was in France), but I think my all-time favorite is the classic quiche lorraine! 🙂

  24. My favorite tart so far has been Tartes aux Bananes. It reminds me of my friend from Mauritius from whom I got the recipe. I have never made a hearty tart before but I think I will start with this tomato and cheese margherita tart. Your pictures scream, “Eat me” and I cannot resist…

  25. Love this recipe and the chance to win a book with more. Get you emails and follow you on FB too. Thanks for the opportunity to win this book. 🙂

  26. This tart is just beautiful, and I love burrata, love it. It is so good on pizza, in lasagne, yum!

    And I follow you on Facebook under my blog name and on Twitter, and I shall be tweeting and stumbling this as well!

  27. I think my favorite tart would be my childhood favorite. Hong Kong style egg custard tarts. 🙂 Sweet custard with flaky crust!

    Thanks for a chance to win this lovely book.

    amy [at] utry [dot] it

  28. That’s beautiful! Oh if I could still eat dairy. That cheese looks amazing.

    I have a couple of favorite tart type things – one is a fresh black raspberry tart with a cream cheese & lemon base and a raspberry jam glaze. The other is technically a gallette, with roasted squash and goat cheese. I haven’t de-dairy-ed & de-glutened either. I should get on that, no?

  29. I’ve become quite smitten with tarts lately also…with my favorite being a fig tart I made not so long ago. Absolutely delicious…though I think this one could give that one a run for its money!

  30. What an amazing looking tart you made! Seriously, it looks so pretty! And I love burrata… I used to eat it when I was living in Italy, but cannot find it in Australia… sigh! Your pictures made me miss it even more! 😉

  31. I love me some sweet tarts….I’m not talking about the candies, although they are yummy too! Gotta give this recipe you shared a try because it just sounds ohhhh soooo delish!!

  32. That tart you made looks incredible! I also love your addition of burrata, which is one of my new favorite cheeses this summer. I love both sweet and savory tarts, but I especially love a simple fruit tart.

  33. Your creation is just beautiful and I so have to try this burrata cheese now: fresh Italian mozzarella cheese with heavy cream, Hello! I am a bit lazy for making tarts…I like a quick puff pastry tart though, did one with tomatoes, truffle balsamic vinegar and Thai eggplants recently, was awesome.

  34. I have never had a savory tart but that looks delicious!!! I love a good fruit tart. That is probably my ultimate favorite.

  35. I’d like to try making tartelettes,I am totally liking the blog Tartelette and it inspires me!I bought some mini tart molds!I need recipes!Thanks for the quite awesome giveaway!

  36. Ok, I know I’m supposed to be excited about the tart, which I am (looks lovely!) and the fabulous giveaway (can’t take part!) BUT what I can’t take my eyes off is your beauuuuutiful wooden board! What a lovely color and a great find!

  37. We make a blueberry tart with a butter crust. Half the fresh blueberries are cooked in the tart shell, with some sugar and cinnamon. When the tart comes out of the oven, we press more fresh berries on top and serve with vanilla ice cream. Best of both worlds…cooked berries like a pie with fresh, juicy berries on top!

  38. Oh, Marla, this recipe is tailor-made for me! When I saw your pictures, I wondered if I could make it with almond flour, but it already is almond flour! Fantastic, saving this one!

  39. This sounds amazing…and definitely sassy! I can’t wait to try this, I don’t think I’ve ever had a tart like this. I usually think of tarts being sweet but omg this looks so good. Thanks for stopping by BFB – it’s lovely being in SRC with you!

  40. Wow, I have no words to describe, They look amazing, your clicks are just like Helen’s, I love her blog.., I did miss your giveaway, but definitely feel very excited to be with you in SRC and feel great about it… I am definitely going to try these as it has so much cheese, my eldest would love me!

    1. Hi Jayasri! Thanks for your super sweet words. The great thing about this tart & all that cheese is most of it is fat free ricotta….a fine balance with the richer nut crust and burrata. Thanks for visiting!

  41. Pingback: 5 Favorite Fruit Tarts, Gluten Free | Taste Station Blog
  42. I am writing this as I am waiting for it come out of the oven. I have never attempted a pie let alone tart before but I am obsessed with cheese and could not resist. I cannot wait to see how it turns out and tastes!! Your pics look gorgeous and I am excited!