tomato tart with parmesan crust

   

I deplaned at Newark with two packages of dried porcini mushrooms in my carry-on. I feared I would be detained by mushroom-sniffing dogs, but, thank goodness, I made it through. (Mushrooms are probably allowed and I'm just being crazy; but I thought they looked suspicious.) Andrew, who was on a different flight, was in charge of bringing back a giant hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano; he, too, was nervous, but he made it. Whew.

When I got home I collapsed onto the sofa, opened my computer (o, computer, how I missed you!), and found  that Heidi had posted the perfect recipe for using that cheese on 101 Cookbooks: an heirloom tomato tart in a parmesan crust. The next weekend I bought these beautiful tomatoes (the picture doesn't do them justice at all, as you know if you have ever seen a tomato). The tart was great fun to make. I love making things in my tart pan--it makes me feel very professional, the fluted edge. Once the shell has baked and cooled, you just arrange your tomato slices on top.

It  tasted as good as you would expect, despite the fact that I mistakenly added a teaspoon of salt to the tart crust. I would love to make small versions of these and pile them with salad, too, as a first course (god forbid we eat an out-of-season tomato, after all; the food police would be at our door in two shakes of a lamb's tail).